Get moving A Research Strategy for Active Cities

健康のため街のため体を動かして！

A wonderful article in The City Fix begins:

Many cities around the globe are home to dangerous roads, social stigmas that bicycling is “for the poor,” and urban designs that neglect walking and bicycling. Photo by Slightly-less-random.

Cities around the globe are seeing a creeping problem of growing physical inactivity, due in part to the lack of pleasurable every-day walking and bicycling. While in some cities there are ample facilities for a refreshing commute on bicycle, a leisurely stroll to the neighborhood market or park, or the ability to walk to high-quality public transport, many of the world’s metropolises are home to dangerous roads, social stigmas that bicycling is “for the poor,” and urban designs that neglect walking and bicycling.

According to the article, physical inactivity - sitting on your bum, driving everywhere, channel surfing - causes 3.2 million deaths annually. This number will rise as countries like China and Brazil increase their ranks of middle class car owning people.

To counteract this, planners and government officials need to become aware of the economic, health, and other benefits of building dense cities with public transportation and parks.

Another trickier issue is that of the social stigma of walking and or cycling. In developing countries, a pedestrian or cyclist is perceived of as poor and lacking any other alternatives. That will take time.

Here in Kyoto, there has never been a stigma towards walking or cycling or riding public transportation. It is a way of life.

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Studies show bike commuting is one of the best ways to stay healthy

「自転車通勤が健康にいい」

Our friends at Baltimore Spokes have passed along the not surprising news that commuting by bike is great for your health.

This confirms our very biased suspicions.

The article is below:

According to Australian epidemiologist Takemi Sugiyama, lead author of a recent study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, “Commuting is a relevant health behavior even for those who are sufficiently active in their leisure time.”

Analyzing the research, The Health Behavior News Service notes, “It may be more realistic to accumulate physical activity through active transport than adding exercise to weekly leisure-time routines.”

The four-year study of 822 adults found that found that people commuting to work by car gained more weight on average, even if they engaged in regular exercise, than people who did not commute by car. The authors of the study recommend creating more opportunities for everyone to walk or bike to work.

An earlier study by researchers at the University of Sydney School of Public Health published in Obesity Reviews (the journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity) supports the thesis that leisure-time exercise alone is not enough to prevent obesity. Sixty to 90 minutes of daily physical activity is recommended to curb obesity, which is more time than most people can fit into their busy schedules. That’s why the study’s authors recommend “active transport” like biking and walking for commuting other common trips.

Beyond fighting fat, biking and walking for transportation also boosts overall health. A 2007 paper in the European Journal of Epidemiology concludes “Commuting physical activity, independent of leisure time physical activity, was associated with a healthier level of most of the cardiovascular risk factors.”

The key advantage of traveling by bike over working out at a fitness center is that most people find it easier to do. Instead of vying for scarce free time with many other fun and important things, exercise becomes something we do naturally as part of daily routine. As a study by Portland State University professor Jennifer Dill in the Journal of Public Health Policy shows, 60 percent of Portland cyclists ride for at least 150 minutes per week (the recommended exercise minimum for adults) and that “nearly all the bicycling was for utilitarian purposes, not exercise.”

She adds “a disproportionate share of the bicycling occurred on streets with bicycle lanes, separate paths, or bicycle boulevards”—confirming the importance of bike infrastructure improvements to public health.

In my opinion, all this research also suggests that if I bike a lot for everyday transportation I can sometimes ditch the skim milk in favor of the brownies, and may save enough on auto expenses to both take a cool vacation and fund my retirement account.


Amen.

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Kyoto is Safe to Visit Now

京都観光は安全だよ！

While the crisis continues to unfold in Tohoku in northeast Japan, the rest of Japan remains much as it always has been.

Images of Japan have of course been of the disaster and now recovery effort.

The recent announcement that the nuclear crisis on the coast of Fukushima has been raised to level 7 does not inspire confidence in Tokyo Power.

However, at the risk of sounding like George W. Bush following 9/11, Japan needs a strong economy in order to rebuild.

Part of that income comes in the form of tourist dollars, euros, won, etc.

And there is actually no better time to come than now.

A few factoids:

Kyoto is 521 kilometers (324 miles) from Fukushima City, and a bit further to the actual power plants
Prevailing winds blow out to the Pacific (away from Kyoto and Tokyo)
0.0041: Level of Radiation (Average range: 0.033-0.087) on April 13, according to the Ministry of Education
22: Number of murders in Kyoto in 2009
306: Number of murders in Philadelphia with the same population of 1.5 million
17: Number of World Heritage Sites
7: Number of 3-star Michelin guide restaurants (Kyoto has the third most stars of any city in the world, following Tokyo and Paris)

Hotels are begging for guests, temples are seeing light traffic, and spring has arrived.

There are no shortages, and everything is working as it always has.

Kiyomizu Temple - pictured at right - awaits.

京都へよこそう！Welcome to Kyoto.

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