lifeasmission

Walking and Books

July 19, 2008

Caught something about “Walkable Neighborhoods” over on Joe’s blog today.  He pointed to walkscore.com – a site that will tell you how walkable your neighborhood is.  On the site, they have this to say about walkable neighborhoods…

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to our health, the environment, and our communities.

Better health: A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.¹ Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15–45.

Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.

More transportation options: Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times safer than driving a car!²

Increased social capital: Walking increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your neighbors. Studies have shown that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.³

Stronger local businesses: Dense, walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they need to thrive. It’s easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one trip, since they don’t need to drive between destinations.

My new neighborhood scored an 82/100!

Also, in my ongoing effort to try and make as many of my normal purchases from people and places that make positive and conscientious contributions to society, I wanted to point out betterworld.com.

Better World Books collects and sells books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than two million new and used titles in stock, we’re a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic and environmental value for all our stakeholders.

Yeah, I am gonna spend a little more on books from this group than Amazon or another group like that, but I am always reminding myself, low costs almost never come without someone else paying the “price.”

Posted in: books, sustainability, urban