At the 2013 Walking Summit early this month in Washington, DC, I spent a lot of time looking at other people’s shoes.
My interest in footwear-as-fashion borders on nil, but I was curious about locomotion. I saw a lot of sensible, flat-heeled shoes on women, and some efficient Tevas and Hi-Techs on men. But also quite a few painful and pointy dress shoes on both sexes, all inappropriate for walking more than to the nearest Starbucks. I tried not to judge, but, well, what can I say?
I spent two days at the summit listening, learning, and chatting with advocates for walking. It brought together a diverse crowd of nearly 400 people: urban planners, doctors, transit advocates, public health professionals, recreational trail directors, and people who blog and write about getting around. They talked about how much we walk, why we don’t do more of it, where we walk, how to get people walking more.
As at conferences everywhere, these discussions were decked out with splashy statistics. Many came from a newly released survey about American attitudes toward walking, which had been commissioned by health care provider Kaiser Permanente (the muscle behind the summit). Seventy-nine percent of Americans, for instance, agree that they “should probably walk more.” And 66 percent believe that distracted drivers were a problem in their neighborhoods.
But one statistic really caught my attention: 72 percent of respondents think walking “is cool.”
Seriously? I suspect a finger on the scale. Because walking has long been the antithesis of cool. Walking is what the elderly do in malls. Walking is what the poor do because they can’t afford righteous wheels, or even bus fare. Walking is what a baseball player does, with a limp, when he’s hit by a ball — it’s the opposite of a home run. And race walkers? They may have set back walking by several generations with their alarmingly wobbly, hip-gimballing walk. The Facebook page “Walking is Cool?” It has a total of seven “likes.”
Walking as a cool activity is hobbled by a number of obstructions. For instance, those who crusade for walking often scare the common people with exclamation points. “Fun you say? Yes, fun!” enthuses a web site advocating walking, posted under a heading reading “Why Not Walk?!” Many walking advocates appear to use keyboards lacking the basic period. You could lose an eye on all their punctuation. True believers scare people.
This is compounded by a persistent belief — at least among many I’ve spoken with — that walking is quite possibly the most boring activity anyone can engage in. Washing dishes by hand is preferable. It’s no coincidence that a synonym for “boring” is “pedestrian.” One young woman — who has evidently been so traumatized by exclamation points that she can no longer employ any punctuation whatsoever — recently groused on an online forum: “I try and try but I can't stand it its too boring I tried listening to songs on my iPod and even walking with a friend but its no use I just don't like walking… but the thing is I want to walk but can’t.”
In my experience, many others share her view that walking may be good, but leads to a slow death by boredom. The only cure? Take two automobiles and call me in the morning.
Running isn’t saddled with this baggage. This is part because when you run briskly down a city street, all rustly in your nylon, it conveys that you’re a can-do person with a busy life, although not too busy to take care of The Big Dog. In contrast, when someone walks past, they’re invisible, or if they’re walking a bit faster than normal, one may note them only to assume they’ve missed their bus. Also running has cool accessories that convey social status and tech savviness. Last summer, for instance, Adidas introduced Springblade, “the first running shoe with individually tuned blades engineered to help propel runners forward with one of the most effective energy returns in the industry.” I assume they couldn’t call it “Bladerunner” because of trademark issues, which is too bad. I don’t even run and I want a pair.
Same with biking — cool and expensive equipment is abundant, including jerseys in colors garish enough to be seen from the orbiting space station. Of course, the dork-helmet remains one of our generation’s unresolved problems, but great minds are at work on this.
How to overcome walking’s dull reputation?
My interest in footwear-as-fashion borders on nil, but I was curious about locomotion. I saw a lot of sensible, flat-heeled shoes on women, and some efficient Tevas and Hi-Techs on men. But also quite a few painful and pointy dress shoes on both sexes, all inappropriate for walking more than to the nearest Starbucks. I tried not to judge, but, well, what can I say?
I spent two days at the summit listening, learning, and chatting with advocates for walking. It brought together a diverse crowd of nearly 400 people: urban planners, doctors, transit advocates, public health professionals, recreational trail directors, and people who blog and write about getting around. They talked about how much we walk, why we don’t do more of it, where we walk, how to get people walking more.As at conferences everywhere, these discussions were decked out with splashy statistics. Many came from a newly released survey about American attitudes toward walking, which had been commissioned by health care provider Kaiser Permanente (the muscle behind the summit). Seventy-nine percent of Americans, for instance, agree that they “should probably walk more.” And 66 percent believe that distracted drivers were a problem in their neighborhoods.
But one statistic really caught my attention: 72 percent of respondents think walking “is cool.”
Seriously? I suspect a finger on the scale. Because walking has long been the antithesis of cool. Walking is what the elderly do in malls. Walking is what the poor do because they can’t afford righteous wheels, or even bus fare. Walking is what a baseball player does, with a limp, when he’s hit by a ball — it’s the opposite of a home run. And race walkers? They may have set back walking by several generations with their alarmingly wobbly, hip-gimballing walk. The Facebook page “Walking is Cool?” It has a total of seven “likes.”
Walking as a cool activity is hobbled by a number of obstructions. For instance, those who crusade for walking often scare the common people with exclamation points. “Fun you say? Yes, fun!” enthuses a web site advocating walking, posted under a heading reading “Why Not Walk?!” Many walking advocates appear to use keyboards lacking the basic period. You could lose an eye on all their punctuation. True believers scare people.
This is compounded by a persistent belief — at least among many I’ve spoken with — that walking is quite possibly the most boring activity anyone can engage in. Washing dishes by hand is preferable. It’s no coincidence that a synonym for “boring” is “pedestrian.” One young woman — who has evidently been so traumatized by exclamation points that she can no longer employ any punctuation whatsoever — recently groused on an online forum: “I try and try but I can't stand it its too boring I tried listening to songs on my iPod and even walking with a friend but its no use I just don't like walking… but the thing is I want to walk but can’t.”
In my experience, many others share her view that walking may be good, but leads to a slow death by boredom. The only cure? Take two automobiles and call me in the morning.
Running isn’t saddled with this baggage. This is part because when you run briskly down a city street, all rustly in your nylon, it conveys that you’re a can-do person with a busy life, although not too busy to take care of The Big Dog. In contrast, when someone walks past, they’re invisible, or if they’re walking a bit faster than normal, one may note them only to assume they’ve missed their bus. Also running has cool accessories that convey social status and tech savviness. Last summer, for instance, Adidas introduced Springblade, “the first running shoe with individually tuned blades engineered to help propel runners forward with one of the most effective energy returns in the industry.” I assume they couldn’t call it “Bladerunner” because of trademark issues, which is too bad. I don’t even run and I want a pair.
Same with biking — cool and expensive equipment is abundant, including jerseys in colors garish enough to be seen from the orbiting space station. Of course, the dork-helmet remains one of our generation’s unresolved problems, but great minds are at work on this.
How to overcome walking’s dull reputation?
by Wayne Curtis, The Smart Set | Read more:
Image: Wayne Curtis
