Our streets and roadways have become increasingly
unsafe and unfriendly to pedestrians and bikers. Suburban sprawl
makes driving a virtual necessity. City planning focuses more on
moving cars and buses than on enabling people to walk safely from
one place to another. And as a country, we are becoming alarmingly
less healthy as our opportunities to walk are curtailed and we become
more sedentary.
Walk for Your Life! insists that we do
not--and should not--have to accept this change lying down. With
obesity at an all-time high, America's sidewalks vanishing from
our suburbs, pedestrians and bicyclists at risk along many roads,
and a fuel crisis on the horizon, we need to re-evaluate personal
and societal walking values. This thought-provoking book calls for
the restoration of a walkable environment as a starting point for
addressing a range of pressing issues .
Marie
Demers, PhDhas
worked as a health researcher for the past twenty-five years. An
epidemiologist, she has been involved mainly in primary care research,
where many health problems are clearly preventable through the adoption
of healthier lifestyle habits. Her background in psychology, biology,
and anthropology has taught her that environment plays a key role
in developing these habits.
