Walking: The First Step in Building a Healthier Society

Why Not Walk?

Walking is a simple, effective and fun form of exercise that can bring the whole family together. Walking is also the simplest form of exercise known to mankind. It requires no equipment and no training. As such, walking is the only form of exercise that can be performed anywhere and at any time by people of virtually every age group.

So, why is it that we don’t walk more? Well, most of us list two reasons as to why we choose not to walk: 1) It is more convenient to drive to most destinations…2) It is not safe to walk to most destinations. This is an especially common reason given by parents of young children.

The unfortunate truth is that both of these reasons are perfectly valid. But, as health-conscious individuals there are steps we can take to combat the complex issues that hinder our society from enjoying one of life’s simplest pleasures: walking.

The first step is to become personally accountable for our health. This involves taking steps to counteract unhealthy habits such as choosing to watch TV instead of going for a walk after dinner. The second step is to band together as a society to combat issues such as traffic congestion, lack of walkable routes and fear of personal safety, that prevent us from going for a leisurely walk in our own neighborhoods.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School is a prime example of an organization working to improve road safety and encouraging more people, including people with disabilities, to safely walk and bicycle to school or work. Though the immediate focus of this agency is to provide children with safe routes to school, entire communities end up reaping the rewards of its efforts. Established in May of 2006, this national center is still in its infancy stage. In an interview conducted by The Dallas Morning News Lauren Marchetti, director of The National Center for Safe Routes to School, made the following statement regarding the progress of their programs, “The communities that are among the first to start the program are just starting to see results. They are very different, depending on what challenges the community was facing and what their goals were. We’ve seen programs where they wanted to slow the speed of cars around the schools, and they’ve been able to reduce the average speed of motorists while the kids are going to schools. One of the things we were impressed with is, one school principal told us that he always tries to schedule his away-from-school meetings on Wednesdays, because he has “walking Wednesdays,” and students are always more well behaved”.

I Walk International is another organization doing its part to improve our quality of life by improving the health of our communities. The motivating factor behind the efforts of this organization is the sad reality that the majority of urban, inner-city communities are not conducive to walking. In 1997, The Partnership for a Walkable America recognized this fact and sponsored the first National Walk Our Children to School Day in Chicago.

This simple event soon evolved into a movement. By 2002, the number of children, parents, teachers, and community leaders participating in this event had climbed to well over 3 million. The power and appeal of this movement stemmed from the fact that soon entire communities realized that by walking together they could better their quality of life by improving the health of their members, the air quality of their cities, and the safety of their neighborhoods.

Today, 440 schools, across the United States, have registered for the Walk Our Children to School Day events. The implementation of such events have improved entire neighborhoods by forcing local law enforcements to patrol and aggressively enforce posted speeds and traffic laws to create safer driving habits in neighborhoods previously thought too unsafe for walking.

These activities also impact children by teaching them the joy of walking as well as basic safety rules such as proper crossings at crosswalks. But most importantly, through such activities children learn to take pride in their communities. This concept is best illustrated through a quote submitted by the staff at Olita Elementary School in La Habra, California, “Our principal, teachers and students meet at a local park to walk to school. Students are given a check list of things to look for during their walk to school. All students who participate are given a charm. 2010 will be our 3rd year. This little event is very well attended”.

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