"The thing is, as Simonsick points out, New York is literally designed
to force people to walk, to climb stairs—and to do it quickly. Driving
in the city is maddening, pushing us onto the sidewalks and up and down
the stairs to the subways. What’s more, our social contract dictates
that you should move your ass when you’re on the sidewalk, so as not to
annoy your fellow walkers. (A recent ranking of cities found that New
York has the fastest pedestrians in the country.) As Simonsick sees it,
the very structure of the city coerces us to exercise far more than
people elsewhere in the U.S., in a way that is strongly correlated with
a far-better life expectancy. Every city block doubles as a racewalking
track, every subway station, a StairMaster. Seen this way, the whole
city looks like a massive exercise machine dedicated to improving our
health while we run errands."
Comments
So true.
I never gain weight when I'm in New York, even though I eat everything in sight. This is almost certainly due to the amount of walking I do there.
I love walking the streets of New York. The sights, the sounds - the energy. I feel just like Mary Tyler Moore.