Walk Around Town

Walking is fantastic exercise, and slashes your carbon footprint. Also see America's 10 Most Walkable Cities.

a young boy and girl walk to school, hand in hand

Photo: Nicole S. Young / Istock

By Brian Clark Howard

Save money on gas and give a boost to your health by walking when you only have to go a short distance. It may not sound revolutionary, but it's easy to forget to use our own two feet in our hectic, car-focused culture.

Walking greatly decreases your carbon footprint (duh), and helps clear the air of smog-forming pollutants. It also is good exercise — something many of us are in dire need of, considering that a new CDC report concluded that more than 25% of Americans are obese.

The good news is more and more cities and towns are starting to wake up to the many values of walking and are finally starting to design things to be more pedestrian friendly (in Europe they've known this for generations). Areas with high foot traffic often are the most vibrant, interesting parts of town, and high gas and land prices are encouraging people to give another look at more densely settled parts of town (good news for the burgeoning New Urbanism movement).

To further encourage hoofing it, the site Walk Score has just released a list of America's 10 most walkable cities. You might be surprised who made the grade.

Next time you need some eggs or ice cream, or want to catch a movie, ask yourself if you can walk there, instead of starting up that car. The planet, and your health, will thank you.

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