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Socio-Ecological Perspective on Walking | Marta Anna Zurawik

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Socio-Ecological Perspective on Walking | Marta Anna Zurawik Jan ’14 | 3(1) Socio-ecological Perspective on Walking | Marta Anna Zurawik SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON WALKING Marta Anna Zurawik Citation: Zurawik, Marta Anna. “Socio-ecological Perspective on Walking.” Coldnoon: Travel Poetics 3.1 (2014): 81-98. Abstract: Walking is the most common form of physical activity. It is inexpensive, safe, accessible and sociable activity. It does not require specialist skills or equipment and can be performed at any time and in various environments: urban and rural. The concept of walking is complex as the activity can be viewed from various perspectives. This piece introduces a notion of walking associated with physical, social and cultural environments and ideologies we live by which influence our decisions to walk. The paper begins with a brief description of importance of walking in people’s social and cultural lives. Next, it presents a brief history of walking by drawing attention to the changes in human lifestyles throughout centuries, which have led to decline of total daily physical activity levels including walking. Subsequently, the socio- ecological model of health behaviour and physical activity is explored. The premises of the socio- ecological perspective offer an insight into personal, social and environmental determinants that contribute or prevent participation in walking. The barriers to walking are linked to the concept of “hierarchy of walking needs,” which determine individual engagement in walking behaviour. According to the socio-ecological perspective and hierarchy of walking needs, walking practice does not depend only on individual beliefs and attitudes; it also depends on characteristics of local environment, social context and relationships. The piece concludes with presenting body of research which use socio-ecological perspectives to prove that walking behaviour is influenced by individual, social, physical and policy environments. Furthermore, the combination of all those factors impacts likelihood of individual regular participation in walking. Keywords: Walking, Socio-ecological perspective, History of walking, Walking environments. • 81 • First Published in Coldnoon: Travel Poetics (International Journal of Travel Writing) ISSN 2278-9642 | E-ISSN 2278-9650 | www.coldnoon.com Jan ’14 | 3(1) Socio-ecological Perspective on Walking | Marta Anna Zurawik Copyright: “Socio-ecological Perspective on Walking” (by Marta Anna Zurawik) by Coldnoon: Travel Poetics is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.coldnoon.com. • 82 • First Published in Coldnoon: Travel Poetics (International Journal of Travel Writing) ISSN 2278-9642 | E-ISSN 2278-9650 | www.coldnoon.com Jan ’14 | 3(1) Socio-ecological Perspective on Walking | Marta Anna Zurawik SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON WALKING Marta Anna Zurawik alking is the nearest activity to perfect exercise (Morris, Hardman 1997, Tolley 2003) as it is effortless and simple for healthy humans. It is the most common form of a daily activity ideal for everyone and can be regularly undertaken, intentionally, when walking for leisure or not when playing golf or shopping. However, walking as an activity is hardly noticeable, mainly because it is very easily performed. The concept of walking is complex as the activity can be viewed from many perspectives. From a physiological standpoint, walking is an aerobic exercise that uses large muscle-groups, it is a weight-bearing and can be practiced at various intensity levels (Tolley). From a sociological point of view, Mike Oliver regards walking not only as a capacity of biological organism. It is a rule-following behaviour, a system of communication which is specific and unique for everyone. In other words, walking is a biological experience for people to move around but also a way of displaying and communicating various moral, gendered, sexual, age, ethnic and subcultural identities (Green, 2009). Walking-education starts very early and never ends. “(…) we work toward being active from birth, learning how to sit up, to crawl, to walk, and then, for most people, to be active in (a) range of ways” (Tolley, 402). Throughout life, people practice different types of walking appropriate for various social and cultural circumstances. Walking patterns are also regulated by time and characteristics of particular spaces. People walk differently in busy streets, shopping-malls, parks, beaches and in various times of day, weather or • 83 • First Published in Coldnoon: Travel Poetics (International Journal of Travel Writing) ISSN 2278-9642 | E-ISSN 2278-9650 | www.coldnoon.com Jan ’14 | 3(1) Socio-ecological Perspective on Walking | Marta Anna Zurawik season. Good examples of how walking rhythm depends on place and time are daily routines: people rush to work, children hurry to school, women surge in shops and elderly either stroll leisurely or wander slowly around towns. A Brief History of Walking Human bodies have evolved in order to live a physically active life. From the prehistoric era people led nomadic lifestyles as hunters and gatherers, in which the only way to survive was walking for food and shelter. This particular active lifestyle required a high total energy expenditure and high level of exertion to which human bodies were adapted by having “abundance of muscle fibres with high oxygen capacity, and little body hair and numerous sweat glands to allow efficient dissipation of heat from the body” (Blair, Brill et al., 25). 10,000 years ago people began to settle in relatively more fecund geographic areas, develop agriculture, domesticate animals and grow plants. This settled lifestyle provided regular food supply and with further consequences, enabled to establish towns and cities. The early agriculturalists still were physically active, as most of the power needed for manufacturing and farming was supplied by humans and animals. However, due to development of a more sedentary lifestyle, walking was no longer the main daily physical activity. Major changes in society took place during the Industrial Revolution, in the 18th century, when the steam engine was developed. This invention instantly helped to supply energy for manufacturing and transportation as engines increased the capacity of production, and caused a dramatic drop in the levels of physical exertion across populations. With further advances in means of transport, labour-saving devices at work and home, and the increase of urbanisation, the active lifestyle, which involved walking, spectacularly decreased in favour of sedentary behaviours. During the industrial period (1800-1945), the levels of physical activity, including walking, continued decreasing in populations in the developed societies. After World War II, scientific and technological progress has been even faster and more extensive, what further induced physical inactivity. Nowadays, in industrialized societies, people lead inactive lifestyles, • 84 • First Published in Coldnoon: Travel Poetics (International Journal of Travel Writing) ISSN 2278-9642 | E-ISSN 2278-9650 | www.coldnoon.com Jan ’14 | 3(1) Socio-ecological Perspective on Walking | Marta Anna Zurawik in which high levels of job-related exertion has almost disappeared due to machines performing the work. Labour-saving devices are everywhere and have changed work-lives, home activities and people’s lifestyles forever (Gauvin, Wall et al.). In present times, western societies, on an average, live over 70 years, which is double of the life expectancy in pre-industrial times, and medical statistics claim that the modern populations’ health and lifespan are superior to any previous societies. However, the sudden change in lifestyle from active to sedentary, where food is easily available and the car is the dominant mode of transport, is responsible for the hypokinetic diseases or health problems related to inactive behaviours, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, low back pain and some types of cancer (Biddle, Mutrie ; Tolley). Walking as a Social Activity Walking is one of the primary examples of activity by which society educates individuals in physical movement to become a part of the social group. Walking education starts very early and most children are able to walk by the first 12 months. Since the minute people start walking, intentionally or not, they devote all life to practice and master different modes of it, appropriating it for various social and cultural circumstances, as walking is undeniably a social and cultural activity which is learned, regulated, stylized; it is communicative and productive of culturally oriented experiences (Edensor). Walking is embedded in cultural norms, habits and conventions which regulate social life, time and space (ibid). The walking “dressage” regulates its rhythms and paces so that people can walk properly according to social and cultural circumstances. Furthermore, through walking people indicate their social and cultural identities, and more importantly the positions or rankings in the society, and the network of relations which can be noticed within particular environments such as schools, hospitals, army and sub-cultured groups (Green). The rhythms and styles of walking vary from non-competitive and sociability modes such as sauntering, ambling, strolling, plodding, • 85 • First Published in Coldnoon: Travel Poetics (International Journal of Travel Writing) ISSN 2278-9642 | E-ISSN 2278-9650 | www.coldnoon.com Jan
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