WALKING IS HEALTHY
Walk!
Did you know that those of us who walk also have rights? That’s right, the European Charter of Pedestrian Rights says that we have the right to live in a healthy environment and freely enjoy public space in safe conditions appropriate for our physical and psychological health.
Furthermore, children, the elderly and people with disabilities can also enjoy a city that is a place of meeting and not of exclusion.
The Catalan Pedestrian Strategy was approved on July 11 by the Department of the Vice-Presidency and of Digital and Territorial Policies and it is a document with more than a hundred proposals to encourage travel on foot, increase the safety of pedestrians, promote healthy mobility or improve environmental sustainability.
We cannot help but mention Ole Thorson Jorgensen, former president of P (A) T and the International Federation of Pedestrians and co-founder of Catalunya Camina, for his contribution to pedestrian rights around the world. He would surely have been proud to see this document published, as he was a key person in the walking push and a tireless activist for pedestrians.
The strategy is based on the basis that many of the conflicts of coexistence between pedestrians and vehicles in the urban environment can only be alleviated through processes of collective reflection that lead to solutions oriented, above all, to the modification of the urban public spaces. For this reason, investment by administrations is necessary to improve justice and transportation alternatives for the entire population, which guarantee aid to the mobility of people from different groups and thus achieve an accessible pedestrian network, with tools like this strategy. .
We know that walking is the most basic form of mobility. We are all pedestrians at some point and, for a considerable part of the population, walking is the main method of transportation.
Promoting walking as an option over motorized transport is a key measure to confront the problems of climate change, dependence on fossil fuels and pollution; Additionally, it benefits the mobility of an aging population and the health and management of increasingly overwhelming motor vehicle traffic. Since current trends will define the future of cities, action is required now to create the sustainable cities of tomorrow. Going on foot is the most ecological way, it does not pollute the environment and does not use fuels that emit carbon dioxide.
Walking also improves environmental sustainability and people’s health, which in turn promotes a healthy, active and safe lifestyle as well as environmental sustainability and the protection of natural resources. Many diseases emerge or worsen due to lack of physical activity. Walking can also improve depression, anxiety and insomnia. In addition, it helps us release anxieties, relax and improve quality of life.
This summer, walk because walking promotes health and physical and psychological well-being, does not pollute, reduces inequalities and is economical. Of course, protect yourself by going into the shade and putting on sunscreen. Drink plenty of water, avoid the hottest hours and rest from time to time.
Have a nice walk!
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