Walking next to a lavender path, or a wall with jasmine flowers isn’t just a soothing sight for a stroll. Ever heard of aromatherapy? Aromatic plants are known for their healing and calming effects, however we often forget how effectively such a pleasant sensory experience helps kindle our memory - to locate and to identify a place.
Walking for the senses
Many of us are fortunate to be able to walk pretty instinctively. But walking is not only being able to put one foot in front of the other and repeat. Walking is an occurrence that is highly influenced by the surroundings. Everyday happenings such as traffic noises, kids on a playground, or the melody of a busker impact how we feel emotionally. A flight of stairs might ruin my walking path, and a sidewalk full of tree roots will make walking a tad bit more attentive. Walking on grass, a glossy laminate, wood board, or on cobbled streets bears different connotations. For some, it’s the city skyline, whereas for others it’s the mountains or vintage-style houses or a bed of colorful flowers when it comes to triggers of a pleasant walking experience.
But once the sun is set, darkness falls over even on our most desired walking havens. Living in Metro Vancouver, we need to be aware of the fluctuating weather (for the most part of the year) which gives us a mix of bright sunny days (longer days during summer) and overcast days (shorter days in winter). Light influences us in a way that we feel safer and more welcome. We are attracted to festive lights, an evening along a busy street with patios, and local shops with striking window displays. We seem to need artificial lighting as much as we do the natural one.
Traffic engineers introduced light posts on roads and streets. And, at intersections, we have traffic lights that help organize vehicle traffic. Many of these intersections are equipped with begging buttons. These stop traffic allowing pedestrians a couple of extra seconds and some are fitted with voice messaging and/or beeping sounds. Blinking lights, speaker countdowns, or motion sensors are some patterns that illustrate the diversity of road users and necessities to every person.
No matter how you may say it, walk, stroll, hike, caminar, pasear, andar, टहल लो, ਤੁਰਨਾ, camminare, coiseachd, ходить, 步行, wandelen, lakad, 산책, marche, Περπατήστε, gehen, راه رفتن, gå, or 歩く, we invite you to walk more and we wish you to stay motivated and keep at it.
Happy Walking!
This blog post is written by BEST’s Isabel Garcia. #walkability
