America Walks

[candrew]

National summit showcases health, economic and social justice benefits of walkable communities.

The 2017 National Walking Summit (held in St. Paul, Minnesota September 13-15), which is themed “Vital and Vibrant Communities—The Power of Walkability”.

Walking advocates once focused primarily on physical health —spurred by mounting evidence that physical activity is key to preventing disease—but now are stepping up to promote social, economic and community health. Their ultimate goal is to transform towns and neighborhoods across America into better places for everyone to live.

Lots of great info on the America Walks website: AmericaWalks | Making America a Great Place to Walk

Health benefits of walking (check out the graph on page 2) https://www.scribd.com/document/251051721/AW-Health-Benefits#fullscreen&from_embed

DW & I are avid walkers/bicyclists. We live in a suburb of the Phoenix area and have found our local city council to be very receptive when it comes to matters of improved access for walking and bicyclists.

 

[Marita40]

I'm here in St. Paul and looking forward to this. I am an avid walker and bicyclist myself, and can attest that St. Paul is wonderful for both! We are a city of small distinct neighborhoods with nature within easy reach. Finally, the downtown is starting to redirect toward the Mississippi River rather than away from it.

 

[haha]

It seems to me that there are almost 2 distinct groups regarding neighborhood type. Most people want to live in very low crime, big house, big yard, Big Box stores etc.

Then another group, less likely to be married or at least to have children want walkable city neighborhoods.

I have lived both ways, the out of town part when I was raising children and married. It worked fine, but I could never go back now.

If you get the residence thing handled, even expensive cities are easy places to be happy on relatively low money. I do spend more on groceries and the per meal cost of a restaurant meal, but I don't need a car, and I don't experience the difficult loneliness that I did living alone in a more isolated environment. None of those big discount groceries or stores will be likely to open nearby, but since I am not feeding a family it doesn't really matter. And pretty much everything is easier, the chore count drops near to zero, and of course can be zero more or less if you rent. Even things like doctor, dentist etc. are much closer, and more competitive so if you are not happy easy enough to change, even in today's America.

Ha

 

[savory]

Thanks for sharing! I have been an advocate for many years. Milwaukee and WI have been very successful. CT is WI 2003. I'm working to have them catch up. I think they are beginning to 'get I but still a ways to go.

Writing this while on a bike trip from CT to Pittsburgh. Only 80 miles to go and all downhill on the GAP.

 

[PawPrint53]

I loved the walkability of my Seattle neighborhoods and miss it now that I live in a smaller city. While we don't walk everywhere like Seattle, we do walk through our neighborhood for exercise (I walked 3K miles in 54 weeks), on the 25 miles of Greenbelt and sometimes to the nearby store (it's more expensive than other stores). If I lived in a different neighborhood here, I could walk to hiking, downtown and to the cheaper grocery, but I like the ponds, creek and walking paths in my 'hood.