The simple act of walking offers tremendous benefits for your health, the economy and the environment. City Walk, a new six-part series that premiered earlier this month, is showcasing how walking is transforming cities across the country and, in the process, reconnecting us with our bodies.
Expanding on short films produced for everybodywalk.org, City Walk explores walking for public television networks KCET and LinkTV from the perspective of experts and pedestrians. It also captures a growing nationwide effort to reverse the trend of a sedentary lifestyle by spotlighting walkable neighborhoods in major cities. The call to action: discover urban areas by foot.
“We are excited to offer an innovative multi-faceted series to our viewers and invite them to explore their public urban landscape with multiple engagement opportunities on the air, online and beyond,” said Juan Devis, vice president, Arts and Culture Programming, KCETLink. “We are pleased to help shepherd urban exploration into the public consciousness through walking and encouraging a healthier lifestyle.”
We’ve written a lot about the Every Body Walk! campaign often on this blog. As a reminder, Every Body Walk! is a campaign to get adults walking 30 minutes a day, five days to achieve better health. While everyone is starved for time, a 30-minute walk can be spliced into your day by walking to transit, walking to work, walking to lunch, walking the dog, and even taking the stairs. Try just a few of these options; you’ll be surprised how quickly the time adds up.
City Walk brings Every Body Walk! to television, tablets, laptops and smartphones, making messages about walking accessible wherever people are.
“It’s a well known fact that the human body was built to walk. As a family physician, I talk to patients everyday about the importance of walking and I even write prescriptions for walking. A 30-minute walk, five days a week can change lives and improve health,” said Bob Sallis, MD, Kaiser Permanente, Fontana, Calif. An avid walker and advisor to Every Body Walk!, Dr. Sallis has walked in many of the locations featured in the City Walk series.
Footage in the City Walk series is brought to PBS in part by Every Body Walk!, which has filmed inspiring stories about walking and walkable cities across the country. The campaign interviewed city planners, academics, physicians, elected officials, executives and parents who can’t say enough about what walking means for their cities and communities.
The next episode of City Walk airs tonight on Link TV: DirecTV 375 and DISH 9410. Cities featured in the upcoming episode include Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Boston. Learn more about walking in downtown Los Angeles, the Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., and the Greenway in Boston.
Check your television or cable listing for monthly airdates through September 26, or watch the show online anytime at kcet.org/citywalk. For more resources on walking, visit everybodywalk.org.
