Neighborhoods ideal for walking

By Jaime Babiera

Walking is doubtlessly the simplest form of physical exercise. Anyone can easily engage in this activity even without trying because, essentially, it is a default component of our daily routine. However, it’s obviously not the case for remote workers who spend most of their time indoors. Distance working somehow deprives them of these simple bodily movements because they don’t have to commute every single day to go to work or stroll around the street with officemates to buy some food during lunch break. That said, I’ve come to realize that we must not stop advocating for physical fitness and instead double our efforts to encourage everyone, especially the home-based employees, to have a very active lifestyle because, as you know, staying home around the clock is not as healthy as most of you probably think.

One thing we can do is turn our neighborhoods into a safe and ideal place for walking. Of course, there are plenty of ways to get it underway. For instance, we can build more parks around the corner or install some vendor booths in the streets to lure people outside. But if we’re going to do it my way, I don’t think we have to go that far. Maybe we can start out small and gradually make little yet significant headway by simply creating a set of universal guidelines that everyone in the community ought to recognize and follow. I have already come up with some. Check them out in the next paragraph.

(1) For motorists: Always stay in your respective lanes when driving. Don’t get too close to the footpath at the side of the road. Let the pedestrians use and occupy it. (2) For fur parents: Do not leave your pets unattended, especially in public places where people usually gather. We’re not in full control of what’s bound to happen at a particular moment, so it’s really for the best to stay near them while you’re outside. (3) For our local officials: Craft and implement some structural projects that generally improve the visual and functional quality of our neighborhoods, e.g., building outdoor light posts and making sure they are all working, keeping the drainage canals clean and covered, fixing the low-lying or broken power lines, and many others. And (4) for all of us: Let’s do our individual parts as members of the community. I have faith in the power of community action and civic participation. Therefore, I know that it’s going to play out well so long as we all work hand in hand.

Email: jaime.babiera@yahoo.com / X: @jaimebabiera