Friday 23 October 2015

Walkability and sustainable living... How are they related?


  • Have you ever thought if sustainability=sustainable living? Hang on to this thought while we discuss this issue in this post. 

  • In a journal article published by Cubukcu, it is mentioned that discussions on sustainability have always been revolving around environmental problems, which commonly includes ozone layer depletion, air and water pollution, alternative methods of energy consumption and recycling (Cubukcu, 2013). These issues have been discussed and written by the media as well as by community members, civic leaders, local governments and official policymakers (Cubukcu, 2013). Among those issues, however, “sustainable living” has received less attention. 

  • Sustainable living is defined by Cubukcu (2013) as a lifestyle that aims to reduce the use of natural resources. This includes practising a lifestyle that reduces wastage and encourages leaving enough natural resources for future generations. He also indicated that sustainable living itself in developed countries is an oxymoron, given that the modern lifestyle of humans in urban areas will lead to environmental destructions.One way to counteract the modern lifestyle of urban dwellers that lead to environmental destruction, would be walkability. Walkability refers to the measure of the ability of an area to be traveled, crossed or covered by foot. It is a good way to lead to sustainable living. 

The concept of walkability can be adapted to Singapore as Singapore being a small country, would be able to implement policies and encourage people to walk to their destinations due to the short distances between neighbourhoods and amenities. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) is trying out this programme in Tampines called Tampines Healthy Pathway and it seems to be quite a success till now. Many of my neighbours including aunties and uncles in Tampines are actively participating in this programme as it is a way for them to collect Healthpoints which can be exchanged for NTUC vouchers worth up to $60. HBP also encourages people to mall-walk as it is one of the safest forms of physical activity (HPB, n.d.) and at the same time easily accessible due to many shopping malls in Singapore. As HBP's main aim to promote healthy living among Singaporeans, it ties in nicely with sustainable living. In addition, when I was in primary school, schools have been promoting walking by introducing stepometer to encourage students to walk more by using a fun approach as it records the number of steps they had walked. Just as mentioned in the journal article that I was talking about in the previous paragraph, walkability is definitely encouraged in Asian cities like Singapore with the many benefits it brings.


  • References:

  • Cubukcu, E. (2013). Walking for sustainable living. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 85, 33-42. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.335
Health Promotion Board. (n.d.). Walk the Mall to Better Health. Retrieved from http://www.hpb.gov.sg/HOPPortal/health-article/9250 

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