Walking is down 20% in parts of London

The "Making London a Walkable City" plan hopes to turn the English capital into one of the world's most pedestrian-friendly cities by 2015.

But the short-term target is to halt the decline in the number of journeys being made on foot.

The mayor says walking is down by 20% in parts of London in the last decade adding to poor health and more traffic.

There has been a particular drop in the number of people walking to schools or to local shops, according to the mayor.

The plan is to get more people choosing to walk when making journeys under two miles.

Mr Livingstone said: "Making London an easier city to walk around will undoubtedly help to achieve both a better city to live in and a more prosperous economy."