tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/walk-49534/articleswalk – The Conversation2020-05-08T12:20:08Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1351782020-05-08T12:20:08Z2020-05-08T12:20:08ZFinding ways to move your body while social distancing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329214/original/file-20200420-152614-1ibi3b7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Short walks can boost the immune system and keep a person fit.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak-Britain/309926f72a5f42608c6e98011af03876/9/0">AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333221/original/file-20200506-49538-1t9ca7k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333221/original/file-20200506-49538-1t9ca7k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333221/original/file-20200506-49538-1t9ca7k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333221/original/file-20200506-49538-1t9ca7k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=227&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333221/original/file-20200506-49538-1t9ca7k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333221/original/file-20200506-49538-1t9ca7k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333221/original/file-20200506-49538-1t9ca7k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=significant+figures">Significant Figures</a> is a series from The Conversation in which scholars explain an important number in the news.</em></p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333683/original/file-20200508-49550-wirr9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333683/original/file-20200508-49550-wirr9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333683/original/file-20200508-49550-wirr9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333683/original/file-20200508-49550-wirr9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333683/original/file-20200508-49550-wirr9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333683/original/file-20200508-49550-wirr9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333683/original/file-20200508-49550-wirr9k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Recent <a href="https://blog.fitbit.com/covid-19-global-activity/">Fitbit activity tracker data</a> show a significant drop in physical activity worldwide that corresponds with the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. In the United States, physical activity has fallen by 12%.</p>
<p>Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://time.com/5324940/americans-exercise-physical-activity-guidelines/">fewer than a quarter</a> of Americans were getting the recommended amount of exercise.</p>
<p>I’m <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&view_op=list_works&gmla=AJsN-F57Tz4p7wPIGcmAeY40EIFEcvZtw8IFrEEL7NK5TsDDo5oMsQq3aLDK7PTxLXWYkXADaJn4l2VlB-b6vzB_HqfbXOWeN4u8-W9W6SIe5-Qvd5YLLZY&user=r7PDNyEAAAAJ">an activity expert</a>, and I am concerned how this reduction in physical activity may impact our overall health and well-being. </p>
<p>Some of the drop in physical activity is due to temporary fitness center closings and stay-at-home guidelines. However, even people who don’t typically work out may have a reduction in activity because they are walking less to do everyday tasks and spending more time in front of a computer. These decreases in activity may add to the health concerns resulting from COVID-19.</p>
<p>Because of this, my colleagues and I want to use our expertise in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/osp4.380">physical activity promotion</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/clinchem/article/64/1/99/5608823">obesity treatment and prevention</a> to help individuals cope with the challenges resulting from this global pandemic.</p>
<h2>It’s important to move</h2>
<p>Prior to the pandemic, there had been concern about weight gain and the high prevalence of obesity in the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr122-508.pdf">United States</a> and on a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-019-0176-8?fbclid=IwAR0i7PRXDcknSPhZEE9cAgzCnnBxw6Ukrsv4XPbsYcxXh85PWuOxrrdFgxU">global</a> scale.</p>
<p>This is important because obesity has recently been <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-at-higher-risk.html#severe-obesity">identified as a risk factor</a> for COVID-19 complications. Evidence has also shown that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29529552">disruption</a> in regular exercise can lead to increases in depressive symptoms. </p>
<p>For an individual who is not a regular exerciser, adding periods of activity throughout the day may have <a href="https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/09_F-3_Brain_Health.pdf">mood enhancing effects</a>. <a href="http://bit.ly/BeFitPitt">Short activity breaks</a> throughout the workday can enhance emotional well-being.</p>
<p>Possibly most important is that physical activity <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26477922">can enhance immune function</a>. This <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163712000438?casa_token=ZOeVSUs9S7QAAAAA:a62Did42JZtQ24ymSL7ZBr1ex9t_A_71XSHIfVdACLfcGLDCEsCYG5Ozg3HbItfeTB1siwenOg">immune system boost may even occur in older people</a> who are especially at risk for dying from COVID-19.</p>
<p>The argument is there to exercise more, but the reality is that many people are now doing less. </p>
<h2>Activity over exercise</h2>
<p>By <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3920711">definition</a>, exercise is structured and planned. </p>
<p>The lack of planning and structure in our lives during this period of social distancing is likely contributing to the overall reduction in our activity levels. </p>
<p>Many people have been taught that exercise has to be intense and done for extended periods of time to make a difference, but <a href="https://health.gov/our-work/physical-activity/current-guidelines">U.S. government guidelines</a> now suggest otherwise.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329254/original/file-20200420-152597-27c6mb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329254/original/file-20200420-152597-27c6mb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329254/original/file-20200420-152597-27c6mb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329254/original/file-20200420-152597-27c6mb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329254/original/file-20200420-152597-27c6mb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329254/original/file-20200420-152597-27c6mb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329254/original/file-20200420-152597-27c6mb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The activity spectrum spans from ‘sleep’ to ‘vigorous activity.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Renee J. Rogers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/07_F-1_Physical-Activity_Behaviors_Steps_Bouts_and_High_Intensity_Training.pdf">Light activity breaks</a>, that get the body moving without major increases in intensity, are often overlooked but helpful for breaking up sedentary time. </p>
<p>On the higher end of the spectrum is moderate to vigorous activity, which aligns more closely to what people classically consider to be exercise. Good news for us is that <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.117.007678">new evidence</a> suggests that doing this type of activity in shorter bouts may provide the same benefits as long periods.</p>
<h2>Building an active lifestyle at home</h2>
<p>My team works every day to translate research into practice, so we have a strong track record of getting people to be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/osp4.107">active at home</a> by starting at a low level and ramping up activity over time.</p>
<p>To start, take <a href="https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/07_F-1_Physical-Activity_Behaviors_Steps_Bouts_and_High_Intensity_Training.pdf">one-minute</a> screen-time activity breaks, or a <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/8963358">5- to 10-minute</a> brisk walk while social distancing. It all adds up.</p>
<p>Consider letting go of “all-or-nothing” exercise thinking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renee J. Rogers receives funding from National Institutes of Health, UPMC Enterprises, and WW International, Inc. </span></em></p>Physical activity is important for all kinds of health reasons, even in quarantine.Renee J. Rogers, Associate Professor of Health and Physical Activity - Programming Director, Pitt Healthy Lifestyle Institute, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1245002019-10-10T19:00:02Z2019-10-10T19:00:02ZIt’s easy to get us walking more if we have somewhere to walk to near our home and work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295952/original/file-20191008-128681-1pl1z01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2886%2C1605&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It doesn't take much to get us walking more.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/campodifragole/12484052913/">Flickr/alina gnerre </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We know <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/walking-for-good-health">walking</a> more and increasing our levels of <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/physical-activity-its-important">exercise</a> are good for our health.</p>
<p>But how can we walk more in our busy lives?</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP3395" title="Daily Walking among Commuters: A Cross-Sectional Study of Associations with Residential, Work, and Regional Accessibility in Melbourne, Australia (2012–2014)">research</a> shows people walk more if the city’s design provides them with places to walk to near where they live, work or study.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-do-we-really-need-to-take-10-000-steps-a-day-109079">Health Check: do we really need to take 10,000 steps a day?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The research also shows people walk even more if they live in a place that has good public transport and plenty of jobs or employment opportunities they can easily access.</p>
<h2>What gets us walking</h2>
<p>Our study examined walking behaviours in nearly 5,000 adult commuters in Melbourne, drawn from the <a href="https://transport.vic.gov.au/about/data-and-research/vista">Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity</a> between 2012 to 2014. </p>
<p>We looked at what level of access they had for destinations to walk to, typically within about 800 metres, close to their home, work or study place. This could be local cafes, shops, supermarkets, libraries and other services, often referred to as local accessibility.</p>
<p>The amount walked on an average day by those with good local accessibility at home or near where they worked or studied was around 12 minutes. Those with limited access to local facilities walked only seven minutes.</p>
<p>People with good local accessibility near their homes walked five minutes more per day than those with poor local accessibility. People with good local accessibility near where they worked or studied walked nine minutes more. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-people-want-walkable-neighbourhoods-but-safety-is-a-worry-88081">Young people want walkable neighbourhoods, but safety is a worry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But to get our activity to the next level we needed to look beyond what was locally accessible to people.</p>
<p>We looked at people’s relative travel commute time by public transport compared with driving, the level of public transport service accessible from where they lived, worked or studied, and the number of jobs within 30 minutes of people’s homes by public transport. These are sometimes referred to as measures of regional accessibility.</p>
<p>We found that the greater access people had to resources and public transport regionally, the more they walked.</p>
<p>For example, after accounting for local accessibility, people living in places with a higher number of jobs available within a 30-minute public transport journey walked just over four minutes more on average than people in areas with very low job availability.</p>
<p>People living in places where taking public transport was more efficient timewise than driving, walked more than seven minutes extra a day compared with people with low levels of public transport. </p>
<h2>A little extra help</h2>
<p>Our study also looked at the combination of local and regional accessibility to see if they encouraged people to walk even more.</p>
<p>We found that high exposure to both local accessibility and public transport accessible opportunities beyond the immediate neighbourhood was associated with greater walking benefits than exposure to just one or the other alone. </p>
<p>This combination of factors supported people to do around ten minutes more (give or take depending on the measures used) of walking on average per day. </p>
<p>We know people who <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301696" title="Relation Between Higher Physical Activity and Public Transit Use">travel by public transport</a> are likely to walk more than those who travel by car.</p>
<p>Public transport effectively separates people from their own vehicle, be it at home or a park-and-ride stop. Public transport delivers them as pedestrians close to their destination, which in turn promotes walking throughout the day.</p>
<p>If people walk more in their residential environment (say to the shops, library, or post office), take public transport to their workplace or place of study and then walk more in this environment too (at lunchtime for example), they do ten more minutes of physical activity in a day than their counterparts who drive.</p>
<h2>A message to planners</h2>
<p>The message this new research tells us is simple. </p>
<p>City and urban design and transport planning have the potential to deliver a regular extra dose of what’s been described as the “<a href="https://www.aomrc.org.uk/reports-guidance/exercise-the-miracle-cure-0215/">miracle cure</a>” of exercise by encouraging us to walk more. </p>
<p>A variety of walkable destinations that support people’s daily living needs to be designed into existing and, more importantly, new developments. That means at locations where we live, work, and study.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/making-our-cities-more-accessible-for-people-with-disability-is-easier-than-we-think-124420">Making our cities more accessible for people with disability is easier than we think</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This can be done by locating shops, schools, post offices, GPs and public transport stops within good walking distance. Jobs need to be located close to where people live. This will encourage walking, cycling and public transport commuting. When this is not possible, employment opportunities should be embedded within well connected and efficient public transport networks. </p>
<p>Cities that support people to walk more will provide population health benefits through increased physical activity, helping them to become truly smart and healthy cities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124500/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Bentley receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Badland receives funding from RMIT University through a Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellowship. </span></em></p>We just need shops, cafes and other services within easy reach to get us walking extra minutes in our busy days.Rebecca Bentley, Associate Professor, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneHannah Badland, Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1117672019-02-18T14:35:29Z2019-02-18T14:35:29ZMaking cities more walkable by understanding how other people influence our journeys<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259556/original/file-20190218-56229-xa1jhh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=403%2C468%2C4431%2C2712&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">On foot.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouettes-walking-people-multiple-exposure-blurred-571977865?src=xBlBMRjeh7J3MG_OZc73oA-1-2">Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cities around the world <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/sep/12/walkable-city-worlds-most-new-york-melbourne-fes-el-bali">are changing</a> to become more “walkable”. As more and more people move to cities, the benefits of encouraging people to walk are clear. Aside from making the urban environment more pleasant, safer and less polluted, improving a city’s walkability can also ease traffic congestion and improve public health. </p>
<p>This is a particular challenge in cities built for cars, so there’s been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjud20/13/1?nav=tocList">lots of research</a> to find out what sort of features make a city more attractive to pedestrians, and encourage them to walk further and more often: whether it’s the size of urban blocks, the quality of the pavement, the presence of trees or street furniture or initiatives such as car-free zones. </p>
<p>But while planners and researchers strive to work out what makes urban spaces enticing to pedestrians, they often overlook the fact that people’s decisions about where to walk, and when, are not only determined by the physical qualities of the environment. In fact, new <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00142/full">research suggests</a> that these choices are strongly influenced by other people. </p>
<h2>Under the influence</h2>
<p>There’s already lots of evidence that people are highly influenced by their friendship groups. As early as the 1970s, an American sociologist called Mark Granovetter <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2776392">suggested that</a> the spread of rumours, adoption of new tech and job searches were all influenced by a person’s social network – especially their “weak ties” with acquaintances.</p>
<p>At the same time, two other American sociologists, <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/225259">Paul Burstein</a> and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2094133">Carl Sheingold</a>, found that political voting patterns were also significantly influenced by a person’s social network. Even more recently, <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa066082">researchers discovered</a> that you are more likely to be obese if your social network contains obese friends.</p>
<p>There’s clear evidence that there’s a social dimension to walking, too. For example, a child is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944360902988794">more likely to walk to school</a> if they have a sibling or friend to walk with. Gender, class and the distance to work <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1353829206000761">all affect</a> whether or not a person chooses to walk. And people <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494404000064">prefer to go with friends</a> when walking for leisure in the city. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259534/original/file-20190218-56240-1yjwyzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259534/original/file-20190218-56240-1yjwyzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259534/original/file-20190218-56240-1yjwyzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259534/original/file-20190218-56240-1yjwyzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259534/original/file-20190218-56240-1yjwyzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259534/original/file-20190218-56240-1yjwyzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259534/original/file-20190218-56240-1yjwyzm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Walk and talk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-young-bearded-blonde-black-hair-532026466?src=xBlBMRjeh7J3MG_OZc73oA-1-57">Shutterstock.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More than that, in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00142/full">new research</a> I conducted with colleagues at ETH Zurich and the University of California, we looked at how the routes people choose to take when walking can be influenced by others; we call this phenomenon “social wayfinding”.</p>
<h2>Social wayfinding</h2>
<p>Perhaps the clearest example of social wayfinding is when two or more people are walking together, trying to reach a destination. They might plan where to go, identify landmarks along the way, and discuss their choice of route together. </p>
<p>This activity becomes less social when one person leads the way, and others follow along; whether that’s a guide leading a tour, or a person leading a friend to their house. Both of these are examples of “strong” social wayfinding, because decisions about where to go are directly and intentionally influenced by other people. </p>
<p>Social wayfinding also happens when pedestrians take hints from others, which influences their choice of route. When a walker believes that other travellers might share the same destination – for example, when they follow fellow supporters from the train station to the football stadium for a match – he or she may simply go with the flow. </p>
<p>Similarly, the movement of people through a gap between two buildings might indicate a shortcut you wouldn’t otherwise have noticed. This is what we call “weak” social wayfinding.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259536/original/file-20190218-56226-1vjnn8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259536/original/file-20190218-56226-1vjnn8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259536/original/file-20190218-56226-1vjnn8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259536/original/file-20190218-56226-1vjnn8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259536/original/file-20190218-56226-1vjnn8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259536/original/file-20190218-56226-1vjnn8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259536/original/file-20190218-56226-1vjnn8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Making tracks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/girl-playing-labrador-retriever-dog-park-451251052?src=IX6SQbU5FhNanvGFSo6kBQ-1-74">Shutterstock.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Timing also plays a role. For example, directions or guidance can be given before a journey, or while walking (over the phone, for example). It can even be that the past movements of others leave “social trails”, which can indirectly inform pedestrians where to go – like the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/05/desire-paths-the-illicit-trails-that-defy-the-urban-planners">worn tracks across grass</a>, which might hint at a shortcut through a park. </p>
<h2>The social city</h2>
<p>Of course, people navigate using many different types of social wayfinding during the course of their walk. Apps such as Google Maps or Citymapper can also be used in a social way: although they’re typically designed with a single navigator in mind, in reality it’s not unusual for two or more people to be using a device at the same time, passing it around, discussing the instructions and jointly making decisions about where to go. </p>
<p>To create walkable cities, of course it’s important for planners and city leaders to understand what sort of physical features encourage people to walk more. But acknowledging how social interactions influence people’s choices about when and where to walk would give leaders a much more realistic understanding of people’s behaviour – and put them in a better position to encourage walking as a means of getting around. </p>
<p>Understanding how other people influence wayfinding could also clear the way for many exciting technological innovations, which could make cities easier to navigate. Social trails could be mapped by digital apps or physical markers, and signage could be dynamic, possibly even functioning like an <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.130.8327&rep=rep1&type=pdf">online recommendation system</a> – for example, by flagging quieter routes during busy periods of the day. Wayfinding aids such as maps, signage and apps can be tested on groups, as well as individuals, to make them more useful in both settings. </p>
<p>By being more responsive to the social influences, which affect where people choose to walk, urban planners and leaders could gain valuable information about the way people use the city, and make smarter decisions about what to build, and where.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Dalton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Other people influence how we vote, what jobs we apply for, which gadgets we buy – so of course they influence how we get around the city.Ruth Dalton, Professor of Building Usability and Visualisation, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/914112018-02-08T17:03:19Z2018-02-08T17:03:19Z‘Walking’ fish help scientists to understand how we left the ocean<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205515/original/file-20180208-180805-1giwl5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tiktaalik: bridging the gap between land and sea</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.jsp?med_id=58310&from=mn">Zina Deretsky/National Science Foundation</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our ancestors’ transition out of the water and onto the land was a pivotal moment in evolution. No longer buoyed by water, early tetrapods (animals with four limbs) had to overcome gravity in order to move their bodies. Exactly how those early pioneers first evolved the fundamental capacity to walk has fascinated scientists for many years.</p>
<p>Fossil discoveries can tell us how and when vertebrates evolved the physical features needed to move onto land. But new research <a href="http://bit.ly/2nPG6cZ">published in the journal Cell</a> suggests that the neural circuitry needed to walk probably existed long before actual legs evolved. Because land-based animals and fish share the same circuitry today, their last common ancestor - an ancient fish which existed 420m years ago - probably also had that circuitry and used it to move around beneath the water. </p>
<p>We already have a reasonably good idea of when fish evolved into land-based tetrapods because the fossil record documents the sequence of changes to their bodies. One of the most iconic specimens is <em>Tiktaalik</em>, a “transitional” fossil dating to around 375m years ago.</p>
<p><em>Tiktaalik</em> is special, because though it retains many fish-like characteristics, it also <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature04637">possesses wrist bones</a>, suggesting that it could support itself on its front limbs. Fossils from rocks older than <em>Tiktaalik</em> lack these wrist bones, and are generally <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022%5B0487:VDITDS%5D2.0.CO%3B2">more fish-like</a>. Fossils from younger rocks include <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/earth-and-environmental-science-transactions-of-royal-society-of-edinburgh/article/devonian-tetrapod-acanthostega-gunnari-jarvik-postcranial-anatomy-basal-tetrapod-interrelationships-and-patterns-of-skeletal-evolution/B2CAA3144A5E5F60C398170B998112BA">more tetrapod-like species</a>, with distinct digits and limbs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205508/original/file-20180208-180836-4qb9w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205508/original/file-20180208-180836-4qb9w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205508/original/file-20180208-180836-4qb9w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205508/original/file-20180208-180836-4qb9w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205508/original/file-20180208-180836-4qb9w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205508/original/file-20180208-180836-4qb9w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205508/original/file-20180208-180836-4qb9w6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Little skate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/rcb/photogallery/skates.html">Page Valentine/USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But <a href="http://bit.ly/2nPG6cZ">the new research</a> from New York University in the US suggests that fish needed more than just legs to learn how to walk, and in fact evolved the neural circuitry involved much earlier on. The researchers reached this conclusion by studying little skates, fish that move along the ocean floor by <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1095-8312.2002.00085.x/abstract">moving their hind fins</a> in a left-right pattern, much as we would move our legs when walking.</p>
<p>The researchers found that the neural circuits little skates use for their alternating fin motion are the same as those mice and other four-legged animals use for limb movement. What’s more, this circuitry is produced by similar genes. </p>
<h2>Mind before matter</h2>
<p>Because it is unlikely that the same circuitry evolved twice, this implies that the same genes and neural pathways found in tetrapods and skates were present in their last common ancestor, some 420m years ago. This is long before the earliest fossil evidence for tetrapods, meaning that the circuits involved in walking first evolved millions of years before legs or feet first appeared.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ay5xCfyGWsg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Skates aren’t the only walking fish that still exist today. In fact, it’s fish that are less adapted for life out of water that move in a manner most like walking, where one limb is placed in front of the other. Blind cavefish fall into this group, using their fins <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep23711">to walk on the riverbed</a> and to climb waterfalls. Lungfish, which move somewhat haphazardly on land, also seem to use their fins in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/108/52/21146">an alternating pattern</a> to propel themselves along the sediment surface when in water.</p>
<p>Scientists have also been observing how modern fish move over land, without the buoyancy aid provided by water. Obvious choices for such studies are fish that are capable of moving around on land, and regularly do so in nature. Mudskippers, for instance, move by using <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/53/2/283/806410">their forelimbs like crutches</a> to propel themselves forward. Lungfish, on the other hand, tend to anchor the head and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep33734">flip the rest of the body forward</a>, which can sometimes leave behind marks that look like footprints.</p>
<p>The new research is an important reminder that however good our fossil record gets, it can only show us the shape or anatomy of an organism. The genetic, neural, and behavioural features that determine what an animal does are ultimately the drivers of that anatomy. The links between living animals can often tell us as much, if not more, about our ancestors as fossilised bones and footprints.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Falkingham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Little skates that ‘walk’ across the ocean floor show how fish brains evolved to pave the way for working legs.Peter Falkingham, Lecturer in Vertebrate Biology, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.