Nerdy Science Blog

ScienceDaily:

ScienceDaily (Mar. 28, 2008) — Maybe when we were their age, we walked five miles to school, rain or shine. So why don’t most children today walk or bike to school?

It’s not necessarily because they’re spoiled, lazy or over scheduled. According to a University of Michigan researcher, concerns about safety are the main reason that less than 13 percent of U.S. children walked or biked to school in 2004, compared to more than 50 percent who did so in 1969.

“These concerns are strongly linked to the kind of physical environment children navigate between home and school,” said Byoung-Suk Kweon, an environmental and landscape architecture researcher at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR).

“The greener the route, the more likely it is that children will walk and bike.”

I’m still walking to campus today because:

• It’s within walking distance (15 minutes).
• I don’t have car.
• It’s cheaper.
• The environment is green and the air is fresh.
• The air is cool and dry (I don’t sweat easily in Australia).

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