"Thinking about my day, I started wondering what's considered a "lot of walking" or "too far to be a reasonable walk" for healthy people. .... On the other hand, at least in the parts of the US that I feel I know, most folks are unaccustomed to walking real distances, and many are also out of shape. I know that there are a lot of people for whom two miles (a bit over three kilometers) wouldn't be "far" on foot assuming they weren't in a big hurry, but I've got no sense of whether that attitude is usual or unusual in my own culture."
It's about a mile (1.6km) from our house to a little shopping center with a good Chinese restaurant. I never consider walking there, but it's mainly a question of the time it would take. (And we tend to make infrequent but large orders, so there would be a lot to carry.) A larger shopping center with a Safeway is a mile in another direction, but that very busy road has no sidewalks and no shoulders. That's got to be another factor in the US -- many of our destinations are not accessible without cars. (We've even got some parks around here you can't get to without cars.)
On the other hand, I bike to work, all seasons. I've biked to pick up Chinese. I don't mind the exercise; it's mainly a matter of time. If I could do email while I walk, I'd find that a more effective use of my time than driving places. (How about some kind of heads-up display in my glasses, and chord-keyboard gloves?) Biking to work takes twice as long as driving. Viewed another way, it costs me only 40 minutes of my day to get 80 minutes of exercise.
Our busy, narrow street used to be a rail route. Going any other direction from here is very hilly, quite steep, so the walks aren't that easy, especially with a load. Also discourages casual cyclists in this neighborhood.
why (some) people don't walk
It's about a mile (1.6km) from our house to a little shopping center with a good Chinese restaurant. I never consider walking there, but it's mainly a question of the time it would take. (And we tend to make infrequent but large orders, so there would be a lot to carry.) A larger shopping center with a Safeway is a mile in another direction, but that very busy road has no sidewalks and no shoulders. That's got to be another factor in the US -- many of our destinations are not accessible without cars. (We've even got some parks around here you can't get to without cars.)
On the other hand, I bike to work, all seasons. I've biked to pick up Chinese. I don't mind the exercise; it's mainly a matter of time. If I could do email while I walk, I'd find that a more effective use of my time than driving places. (How about some kind of heads-up display in my glasses, and chord-keyboard gloves?) Biking to work takes twice as long as driving. Viewed another way, it costs me only 40 minutes of my day to get 80 minutes of exercise.
Our busy, narrow street used to be a rail route. Going any other direction from here is very hilly, quite steep, so the walks aren't that easy, especially with a load. Also discourages casual cyclists in this neighborhood.