As spring approaches in the northern hemisphere, walking as part of our daily routine can improve physical health and mood, as well as reducing the incidence and prevalence of overweight and obesity. The U.S. Surgeon General’s office has issued a call to action – Step it up! – to promote walking and walkable communities. Walkable communities are defined by the Surgeon General’s office as being safe and easy to walk, and where pedestrian activity is encouraged for everyone. Brisk walking is a good way for most Americans to be more physically active without needing special equipment or skills. Step it up! provides suggestions for various stakeholders to make our communities more walkable and increase walking. Examples range from designing safe and easy places to walk in a community to implementing workplace policies and programs to promote walking.
WalkScore.com (Walk Score®) provides a free and easy way to check how walkable an area is, before buying or renting a house or apartment. After entering an address, a walkability score is provided. Scores for bikeability and access to public transportation are also shown. A study published this month reviewed how Walk Score® worked in Japan, and prior studies including this one reviewed how it worked in four U.S. metropolitan areas.
Author: Jill Powelson
Community health blogger. Jill is a Memphis-based healthcare executive, registered nurse, and public health expert interested in high-value health care. Her blogs focus on population health and public health.
