Walking is the dominant mode of transport in informal settlements of the global south, especially in African cities where structural deficits, morphological challenges and ineffective urban development constrains sustainable transport planning for low-income areas. Despite emerging scholarship on walking in Africa, the literature pays little attention to everyday realities of the walking environment. This paper presents preliminary results of a pilot study that examined the walking environment and everyday walking practices in an informal settlement in Freetown, Sierra Leone, using web-based mapping and a qualitative questionnaire. The results show that walking remains the predominant means of mobility in the settlement mainly as a result of the topography and poor infrastructure. Residents have resorted to improvisations through self-constructed routes to mitigate risks and improve walking experiences, as well as self-provided street lights or benches for rest stops. Our results show that local improvisations influenced residents' positive experiences of walking. The paper highlights the need for collaborative and participatory local interventions that are built on everyday walking practices to support co-production methodologies for understanding and improving local walking experiences. Through context-specific understandings of the everyday walking environment, the research provides avenues for urban transport and development planners to work with local actors for improving accessibility in informal urban neighbourhoods facing acute structural deficits for urban mobility and access to essential everyday services.

步行是全球南部非正式住区的主要交通方式，特别是在非洲城市，那里的结构性缺陷、形态挑战和无效的城市发展限制了低收入地区的可持续交通规划。尽管出现了关于在非洲步行的学术研究，但文献很少关注步行环境的日常现实。本文介绍了一项试点研究的初步结果，该研究使用基于网络的制图和定性问卷调查了塞拉利昂弗里敦的一个非正式住区的步行环境和日常步行实践。结果表明，主要由于地形和基础设施薄弱，步行仍然是定居点的主要移动方式。居民通过自建路线采取即兴创作来降低风险并改善步行体验，以及自备路灯或休息站的长凳。我们的结果表明，当地的即兴创作影响了居民的积极步行体验。该论文强调了基于日常步行实践的协作和参与性当地干预措施的必要性，以支持用于理解和改善当地步行体验的联合生产方法。通过对日常步行环境的特定背景理解，该研究为城市交通和发展规划者提供了与当地参与者合作的途径，以改善非正式城市社区的可达性，这些社区面临着城市流动性和获得基本日常服务的严重结构性缺陷。