A sedentary lifestyle is a trap lurking around every corner, and adopting more active lifestyles is an increasing priority. But what really motivates people to walk? A neighbourhood may offer excellent opportunities to walk to many destinations, but only a few specific routes will actually be perceived as conducive to walking.
As a professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at the Université de Montréal, I am seeing significant disparities in walkability across different areas. While accessibility to shops and services is necessary to create healthy living environments, it’s not enough. The safety, comfort and appeal of walking routes are more likely to encourage people to walk.
I enjoyed the read. I appreciate the work being done by the Professor and their team. We need more of this. Not to show to policy makers who don’t give a damn, but to help highlight who policy makers govern for. Its not us.
People want nice walks. Safe bike lanes. Trees and flowers and shops and parking. We want all of that integrated into a city that let’s people move, shop, eat, commute in any manner that works for them.
We also know some policy makers don’t give a shit. Let’s look at Doug Ford of Onatario.
Doug Ford is great at governing and a great policy maker. He just doesn’t govern or make policy for people. He governs for auto companies, contractors, and the petro industry. Doug doesn’t give a shit about your commute, your walk, your experience with access to food and entertainment. Doug cares about putting butts in cars and cars on roads. He’s very good at getting that done.
Furthermore, some city departments either can’t plan effectively or won’t plan well for a variety of reasons. Lack of funding. Path depdency. Just really bad outcomes from well intentioned ideas; like bike lanes but only for new development that create a nightmare of road conditions.
We need better urban planning policy. We need it now. People want to enjoy their walks and neighborhoods. We know that and we know why. We can not get these wants and turn them into reality for the reasons I’ve stated; and I’m sure I’m missing a few.