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Concept
Sidewalk
Summary
A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a road. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick, stone, or asphalt, it is designed for pedestrians. A sidewalk is normally higher than the roadway, and separated from it by a kerb (spelled "curb" in North America). There may also be a planted strip between the sidewalk and the roadway and between the roadway and the adjacent land.
In some places, the same term may also be used for a paved path, trail or footpath that is not next to a road, for example, a path through a park.
The term "sidewalk" is preferred in most of North America. The term "pavement" is more common in the United Kingdom and other members of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as parts of the Mid-Atlantic United States such as Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey. Many Commonwealth countries use the term "footpath". The professional, civil engineering and legal term for this in North America is "sidewalk" while in the United Kingdom it is "footway".
In the United States, the term sidewalk is used for the pedestrian path beside a road. "Shared use paths" or "multi-use paths" are available for use by both pedestrians and bicyclists. "Walkway" is a more comprehensive term that includes stairs, ramps, passageways, and related structures that facilitate the use of a path as well as the sidewalk. In the UK, the term "footpath" is mostly used for paths that do not abut a roadway. The term "shared-use path" is used where cyclists are also able to use the same section of path as pedestrians.
Sidewalks have operated for at least 4000 years. The Greek city of Corinth had sidewalks by the 4th-century BC, and the Romans built sidewalks – they called them sēmitae.
However, by the Middle Ages, narrow roads had reverted to being simultaneously used by pedestrians and wagons without any formal separation between the two categories.
Official source
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