Is lowering your blood pressure and improving heart health as simple as moving to a more walkable neighborhood?
Yes, actually. One study done by researchers at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto found that, on average, people who move from neighborhoods that require a car to do errands to those where you can walk to shops and stores are significantly less likely to have high blood pressure than those who stay in the less walkable neighborhoods.
Many American suburbs, if not most, are not very walking friendly, at least not for doing errands. If you live in a place where you can walk to the store, you’re more likely to do more walking, because you have a practical reason for doing it.
Too bad urban planners haven’t designed more neighborhoods to be more pedestrian friendly.
