From the article:
This is just crazy. I walk quite a bit. We have an ice-cream shop and a few restaurants about a 1/2 mile from our house that we walk to. I also run 2-3 times a week. When I was first married, my wife and I would walk to the grocery store which was at least 3 miles away from our house. I used to complain about this at first but grew to really enjoy it. My wife can be attributed for my love for walking/running now. Had I not met her, I'd likely be driving to the ice cream shop. It also helps to live in a temperate climate. I can see why in Northern Minnesota they may not walk as much as we do here in North Carolina. I have found that walking is a good gauge of compatibility too. People have different paces and different ways of walking. For some it's all about the destination and getting there quickly, for others its about recreation and getting some exercise and for others its about meandering and stopping to "smell the roses". It's always good to walk with someone that has your way of walking. imo.
Carlin Robinson, 12, walks from her grandmother's car to the school bus in Manchester, Ky. Her house can be seen in the background. A study published in 2010, investigating high obesity rates in the town found that residents used cars to minimize walking distance, to the detriment of their health.
Heh, I grew up in Minnesota (though near Minneapolis opposed to the frigid north) and had to walk to middle school every day, though then I drove to high school (I only lived about a 1/3 of a mile from the middle school, and 3 miles from the high school). I don't think it is climate though that effects this. The real difference is a combination of how spread out and suburban the US is along with a lack of a strong public transportation. When someone doesn't own a car they are more likely to walk (the article makes an allusion this with the fact that those who take the train to work walk more than those who drive but doesn't go any further). Because the US lacks strong public transport it makes it harder for people to live without cars so they rely on cars more and more. I've lived the last 6 years in Cleveland and in Washington, DC with another year abroad in London. While I was in London I remember one experience where I wish I had a car (I went to a concert out in the middle of nowhere), but while in Cleveland and DC I have moments probably monthly where I wish I had a car because it takes forever to get somewhere without it.
How spread out things are defiantly has an impact on how much people drive or walk. I live in a place that's pretty spread out and's also very hilly, so it's much easier to get in a car than walk.
Chosen not to walk, either out of the convenience of using a car, or out of laziness. Sometimes, a car is necessary, but not for shorter trips. That said, I opt to take my car because the nearest grocery store from my campus is about 2 miles away in a busy commercial area with no sidewalks, and it's dangerous to walk. But the campus itself is very walkable, my girlfriend and I go for walks on occasion and those are always fun. The city itself is walkable too after you get there. I like to drive down to one of a few streets, park the car, and then start walking for the rest of the adventure. Walking isn't always the best option, but I enjoy it.
It's often a choice, but part of it is structural as well. I grew up in a small town—around 2,000 people—but in terms of land area, it wasn't really all that small. I didn't realize how big it was relative to its citizens' needs until I travelled in Europe a bit. A village there is a hub you can walk across in a matter of minutes, surrounded by the larger estates of farm-holdings. By contrast, it took close to an hour to walk from city limit to city limit across my home town, and that's if you moved at a brisk clip.
In a small American town you're also likely not within walking distance of useful businesses. In my suburban hometown, the nearest grocery store or other stores are 2.5 miles away along a state highway with no sidewalks. Newer communities with more housing developments are even worse for walking. It's no surprise that Americans outside of dense urban areas don't consider walking a viable means of transportation.
Economy plays into it as well. When I was a child, there were two full-blown grocery stores (one chain, one independent) in my home-town, plus a food-centric general store. Last time I was there, only the general store remained. Citizens have to drive 30+ miles for many types of groceries.
I walk the 3/4 of a mile to work every day. Even though its very short, I find that it gets my heart pumping a little, wakes me up (not a morning person at all). Even in the cold weather (today it was 25º, wind chill 15º), I still enjoy it. In fact, I prefer miserable cold to miserable heat. At least in the cold I don't show up at work sweaty, which is unavoidable in the summer.
Interesting article. Here is related website called Walk Score. The point of it is to see how "walkable" your city or neighborhood is. Time to get off my ass.
I don't walk much. But I do hike. I live in an area where there are plenty of huge parks and mountains to hike up down over and around. I love it. When I'm near civilization however there isn't any need to walk, because well, things are too far apart to simply walk there. I always rode my bike when I was younger, and I loved it. Bike riding is one of the most underrated forms of travel out there in my opinion.
I can't remember where I read it, but somewhere on the Internet I read that car companies had lobbied early in the twentieth century to not have public transportation funded, and because this happened back when cities were just beginning, we adapted and all our cities were built around the assumption of cars.
It's an issue that is especially bad with the US' low population density in most places. We've adapted to needing cars to get anywhere; it's a problem that feeds itself. City planning ends up lacking when it comes to pedestrians because we're conditioned to drive everywhere, which makes us drive places even more. In San Francisco you have excellent pedestrian and public transport--why not walk anywhere? Yet if you go just 20 minutes south to Daly City you'll find streets without sidewalks, sidewalks that just end in the middle of a long stretch of road, and sidewalks connected to nothing going to nothing. Suburban sprawls make the matter worse, and even worse as you get away from major cities. I was wondering why it seemed so much colder here in southern California with 50 degree temperatures than it did when I was in Kentucky at freezing temperatures a few weeks ago. The answer is actually pretty related to walking: here I'll walk to work and endure the cold. In Kentucky, you never even spend any appreciable amount of time outside to notice the cold-- you go from your climate-controlled house to your climate-controlled car to your climate-controlled destination. It works the same in the extreme heat of Arizona in the summer. Even if temperature weren't a factor, there was no where in KY that could really be walked to in any reasonable manner. The city layout didn't allow it, nor was the infrastructure there for it.
Speaking for myself, I enjoy walking. I don't own a car and live in a walkable city in the northeast US. One where I can go to a number of cafes, restaurants, grocers, shops, just about anything you can imagine. It's not a large city by any means, but I live downtown so that really is advantageous for walking. If I need to get into the big city then I walk down to the local commuter station and pick up the train. It's 30 mins on the train and then I'm in the center of the city. Our largest city nearby has a decent public transportation system, so you can go from one neighborhood to another in a matter of minutes. Which isn't always the case if you were driving in the city. So, while the article points out some very interesting notes, I think what matters most is ease and if you can access your necessities easily. For me, walking works.