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What can communities do to encourage physical activity and protect the environment?
According to Dr. Marty Nathan of Springfield, Massachusetts the answer is simple—remove barriers to walking by fixing and maintaining sidewalks.
Dr. Nathan, who works as a physician in the North End of Springfield, a predominantly Latino side of town, believes that walking can prevent three things that cause us harm: obesity, air pollution and climate change.
“I try as much as I can to avoid using cars to get where I need to go,” Nathan said in a MassLive editorial.
In the editorial Dr. Nathan speaks of how many of the low-income patients she sees depend on having safe places to walk, to get to jobs, stores and services.
“Their health suffers when that cheapest of exercise forms – walking – is not available,” she added.
In order to ensure better health for its citizens and social justice, Dr. Nathan urges cities to prioritize safe alternatives to driving, such as walking and biking, so that cars are no longer a necessity.
Read the full editorial here.
By The Numbers
33
percent
of Latinos live within walking distance (<1 mile) of a park
