A 2004 study by the Heart and Stroke Foundation found that, contrary to popular belief, city dwellers are actually more active than country and suburb dwellers. The study attributes the difference in daily activity levels to the fact that those living downtown are more likely to walk, bike or take public transit when running errands or as part of their daily routine.

If you are living in a suburban area already, or moving to one in the near future, this claim can be a little off-putting. Is it inevitable that once you move to the outskirts, daily commuting and the location of local services will force you to drive everywhere rather than walking? Yes, and no. The bad news is, human nature will always cause us to take the path of least resistance – if it is easier to drive than walk, we will drive. The good news?

If we’re conscious of these risks, we can take action to change them.

When shopping for a new home and new community, most people take into account the location of schools, amount of green space, views, community association and length of their commute. It would be prudent to add to this list a factor that has been labeled “walkability” – a buzzword among active-living advocates and community planners. Walkability expert Dan Burden lists a number of indicators for determining a walkable neighbourhood on his website, http://www.walkable.org.

To determine whether your potential new community encourages walking or not, consider these factors:
1) Is there a quiet, inviting central shopping area, with stores open at least eight hours per day? There should be a healthy variety of stores and services.
2) Does the community feature mixed income and mixed use housing?
3) Is there accessible and welcoming public space within 200 metres (1/8 of a mile) of each home?
4) Are all spaces accessible to everyone? There should be ramps, medians, sidewalks, and shade and benches as needed.
5) Does traffic move at a safe speed? Speed-control methods include on-street parking and tree-lined streets. Roadways should also be pleasantly landscaped.
6) Streets and pathways should be well-connected throughout the community. Watch out for isolated cul-de-sacs.
7) Most services and elementary schools should ideally be within 400 metres of your home, with high schools within a kilometre and a half, parks within 200 metres, and a well-sheltered bus stop within 400 to 800 metres of your home.
8) When you visit the neighbourhood, are there lots of people walking? If not, there is probably a reason.

Pam Meunier, manager of Community & Neighbourhood Services at the City of Calgary’s north area office, adds a city services aspect. She advises homebuyers to study the community association of their potential new community by obtaining a copy of their newsletter, attending a meeting, and determining whether or not the association is active and promotes a sense of community.

Lori Beattie, owner of Fit Frog Adventures and author of Calgary’s Best Hikes and Walks, has been “urban hiking” in Calgary for more than eight years, and has noticed definite differences between communities as far as walkability is concerned. Beattie prefers older, inner-city communities because of the “interesting architecture, interesting streets and big trees.” However, she does name a few newer communities with features that encourage walking, including Edgemont, because of the ravine, and any communities bordering Fish Creek Park or 12 Mile Coulee.

Beattie points out that the need for exercise isn’t enough to motivate many people, and that there must be points of interest and nearby services to encourage residents to make activity part of their everyday routine. Dr. Tish Doyle-Baker, clinical exercise physiologist at the University of Calgary and spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, concurs. “In the long run, it could be easier to be active (in a new community) as the community grows, but you have to have a really good community centre, and the paths have to go somewhere,” she says. She names Mackenzie Lake as a good new community that encourages walking.

Doyle-Baker also praises communities with a C-Train connection. In a survey conducted by Doyle-Baker and Bev Sandalack, it was found that 63 per cent of Somerset residents use the C-Train, as there is a station in the community. Using public transit leads to a more active lifestyle, because you are forced to walk to and from pick-up and drop-off points rather than parking at the door.

Surely, developers must be sensitive to the needs of their residents when designing a community. So why are the suburbs still so looked-down-upon compared with the inner city? Unfortunately, says Paul Taylor, executive vice president of Hopewell Communities, “what people want, and what they really want, aren’t necessarily the same thing.”

For instance, he says, people want big lots, but are unwilling (or unable) to pay for them, or simply don’t want to maintain them. He also points out that Calgary has a great city pathway system but not that many people take advantage of it. As mentioned earlier, cul-de-sacs can deter residents from walking, because they create dead ends. Yet, as Taylor says, homebuyers value cul-de-sacs because they view them as safe and attractive.

Lastly, and perhaps most flummoxing, Taylor observes that in his own neighbourhood, residents will drive to services within close walking distance, or have pizza delivered when the pizza place is just around the corner. This backs up the idea that if we can drive, we will.

So, the solution must lie in bridging the gap between less-than-ideal circumstances combined with an inherent laziness, and a general desire to be fit and healthy. The problem is not that opportunities to be active don’t exist in new communities, but that it is still easier to drive than walk. In contrast, for downtown residents it is usually easier to drive than walk, because when they walk they don’t have to find parking and battle traffic.

Meunier adds that “we have gone through a time where we defined physical activity as highly structured,” pointing to the tendency for people to think of their activity within the parameters of their gym membership or having the most stylish workout gear. “What we’re finding, and what the research is starting to show, is that it’s more of a lifestyle approach,” says Meunier. “So it’s incorporating physical activity into your day-to-day routine.” She adds that activity done over the course of the day is cumulative in its health benefits, meaning that the ten minutes of vacuuming, 20 minutes of grocery shopping without a cart, 15 minutes in total of taking the stairs at work and the half hour walk to the park with your dog or your kids all contribute to the ideal total of 30-60 minutes of activity you should fit in on most days.

Luckily, there are ways to build activity into your daily routine, and your family’s routine. Doyle-Baker recommends doing your own gardening, getting to know your neighbours, fitting in activity over your lunch hour and taking the stairs whenever possible. Meunier advocates “double-shifting” – finding time for activity while taking care of other obligations. For instance, she says, walk to events in your community rather than driving, or park further away, and take the chance to walk laps around the field while you watch your children participate in sports.

Children may be more likely to be active, but it still doesn’t hurt to encourage them to be more so. Doyle-Baker recommends making your yard “playable.” She says that any element which will pique a child’s imagination will help a child to be more active, pointing to slopes, trees and a variety of potential activities as positive additions to any child-friendly yard. Likewise, she recommends making the front driveway playable by providing a level area where children can engage in sports such as hockey or basketball. As for what to look for in a playground, Doyle-Baker praises older-style playgrounds for their variety of activities and potential for kids to tumble, jump, balance and roll.