Issue Date: June 28, 2009
Walkable community helps keep you active
Want more bike trails in your town? Go to city council meetings and speak up.
|
Living in a city that's friendly to bikers and walkers could make staying fit a bit easier.
"Many studies show that people living in walkable neighborhoods walk and cycle more for transportation, do more physical activity and are less likely to be obese," says Jim Sallis, director of childhood obesity prevention group Active Living Research and professor of psychology at San Diego State University.
If your city doesn't encourage physical activity, speak up, Sallis says. Congress is preparing to re-write the federal surface transportation act, which will affect funding for walking and biking trails as well as public transit. You can tell lawmakers what you think at t4america.org.
In the meantime, see where your city falls at walkscore.com, which ranks the walkability of more than 2,500 neighborhoods in 40 cities.
|
