Alone and adrift in Melbourne, Cassandra Pybus returned on a whim to her childhood home of Tasmania. There, she rediscovered nature's power, encountering the island's difficult history as well as her own.
Walking has a variety of health benefits.
From shutterstock.com
Many of us are programmed to aim for 10,000 steps a day. This target is not right for everyone – but we can all benefit from setting step goals to increase our activity.
Uninviting, car-dominated streets, like this one in Melbourne, reduce our experience menu by discouraging beneficial activities like walking and sharing places with other people.
Daniel Bowen/Flickr
If the menu of potential activities that do us good is made to look uninviting or challenging, we are more likely to choose the easier but less healthy option.
Children’s travel needs are a big factor in private car use.
Pablo Rogat/Shutterstock
The private car is the default transport option for many families. This reduces physical activity and increases greenhouse gas emissions, with unhealthy results for their children and the environment.
Most of Kyoto’s narrow streets could become no-car zones.
The city where the Kyoto Protocol was signed resolved some years ago to move away from cars and towards low-emission alternatives for getting around. And it's making real progress towards that goal.
A very precise kind of electrical stimulation has allowed three people with spinal cord injury to walk again.
from www.shutterstock.com
Research published today shows that walking again is possible for individuals with spinal cord injury. After electrical stimulation, three people with lower leg paralysis could walk to some extent.
What's your risk of dying if you cycle to work, versus the health benefits? What about walking, or driving, or catching a train? Here are the risks and benefits.
The settings on traffic lights make pedestrians wait longer by giving higher priority to vehicle traffic.
Abaconda Management Group/Wikimedia
Everyone doesn't simply wait their turn at traffic lights. Signals are set up to enable a 'green wave' for cars and adjust to heavy traffic, making walkers wait longer no matter how many there are.
OK, you don’t need the poles. But you should pick up the pace.
from www.shutterstock.com
Four out of five experts say walking is enough exercise.
Very wet weather is likely to persuade many regular cyclists and walkers to travel instead by car if they can. This is Bondi Junction after a storm hit Sydney.
David Moir/AAP
The relationship between weather and our travel choices is complicated. We can't change the weather, but, with many other factors in play, good policy and design can reduce its impacts.
The ‘Bicycle Snake’ in Copenhagen separates pedestrians and cyclists, allowing both to navigate the city more safely.
Cycling Embassy of Denmark/DISSING+WEITLING
New analysis reveals just how little is spent on cycling and walking projects around Australia. No state's spending on cycling is more than 1.5% of its road funding.
Little skates that 'walk' across the ocean floor show how fish brains evolved to pave the way for working legs.
Only in a few active travel strongholds, typically in the inner city, do Australian cycling and walking rates get close to those in Europe.
Andrew Robinson/Flickr
A comparison of Australian cities reveals cyclists and walkers are still very much a minority of commuters, despite the economic, health and environmental costs. Action on three fronts is needed.
Do not be derailed by news reports that exercise is bad for the heart. Taking more exercise is a New Year’s resolution to stick to. Exercise reduces risks of depression, cancers, heart disease, stroke and sudden death.
(Shutterstock)
The benefits of walking are widely promoted, but most Australian communities still aren't walker-friendly. Young people, who rely heavily on walking to get around, are clear about what has to change.