Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

citylab.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 50 posts

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#31

Post by benj111 »

setr wrote: post #27
benj111 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"a mile from home. At that distance, there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to find parking any closer to where I'm going" Would you drive, just to travel a mile? Barely seems worth it in the best case. That's without getting into the environmental and social issues.

If parking were easily available & free, then whats the downside? 15 min + a bit of effort versus 5 min and no effort... and you have the convenience of having a car nearby for your next thing (eg lunch). The choice seems obvious to me.

That 15 minute walk will always take 15 minutes, whereas that 5 minute drive may turn out to be a 15 minute space hunt, so you still have to set off at the same time.

So unless you're travelling somewhere afterwards, where's the upside?

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#32

Post by dagw »

setr wrote: post #27
benj111 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"a mile from home. At that distance, there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to find parking any closer to where I'm going" Would you drive, just to travel a mile? Barely seems worth it in the best case. That's without getting into the environmental and social issues.

If parking were easily available & free, then whats the downside? 15 min + a bit of effort versus 5 min and no effort... and you have the convenience of having a car nearby for your next thing (eg lunch). The choice seems obvious to me.

then whats the downside?

Personally. Driving is stressful and uncertain (doubly so in cities with a lot of traffic), while walking is nice and relaxing.

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#33

Post by rikkus »

Opinion on factors based on introspection:

- Desire to shorten the parts of the commute where I can’t read a book (on my phone)

- Desire to shorten the commute in general to maximise time at home or work (day is more relaxed if you arrive earlier)

- Have a set of transport departure times in mind, for the optimal ‘smooth’ journey and want to be sure to arrive early enough to guarantee not missing these. Lowers stress.

- Brisk walking raises heart rate and brings endorphins

- Everyone else walks at this speed. To deviate makes it harder for the person deviating as they aren’t working with the ‘flow’.

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#34

Post by nicolas_t »

culturestate wrote: post #10
ken wrote: post #8

I'm surprised they don't mention the obvious practical reason. I walk faster when I'm in the city because I have farther to go. Last week, I was working in a smaller city 30 miles out. So I drove, and out in the suburbs, I can park pretty close to where I'm going. Today, I was working in the city, a mile from home. At that distance, there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to find parking any closer to where I'm goin…

> I'm surprised they don't mention the obvious practical reason. I walk faster when I'm in the city because I have farther to go. I tend to walk slower when I'm going a longer distance because I want to avoid arriving at my destination drenched in sweat, although I suppose this could be driven partially by the fact that I live in a tropical city (Hong Kong).

I also live in Hong Kong and I did notice that people seem to walk faster in Winter than Summer :)

I do think that the weather is a factor that should be studied... Another factor is location, I've found that people walk faster in Central than in other places but that might follow their theory about money.

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#35

Post by INTPenis »

I'm fairly certain why I walk fast in a city and it's because of the lights and buses. In certain parts of downtown you turn into a video game character because you've learned how all the crosswalk lights work, how the traffic flows.

So if I see that I might make a green light if I walk faster I start to speed up, and then I catch myself maybe 20 meters after the light and slow down.

Same with trying to avoid bicycle paths and catch buses.

It's all one big video game and it raises your pace significantly. I often catch myself walking faster than I intended and make an effort to slow down.

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#36

Post by tonyedgecombe »

benj111 wrote: post #25
ken wrote: post #8

I'm surprised they don't mention the obvious practical reason. I walk faster when I'm in the city because I have farther to go. Last week, I was working in a smaller city 30 miles out. So I drove, and out in the suburbs, I can park pretty close to where I'm going. Today, I was working in the city, a mile from home. At that distance, there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to find parking any closer to where I'm goin…

"a mile from home. At that distance, there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to find parking any closer to where I'm going" Would you drive, just to travel a mile? Barely seems worth it in the best case. That's without getting into the environmental and social issues.

It used to amaze me when I walked my children to school. We would pass people getting in their car to avoid walking half a mile. I suspect a lot of the time they don't even think about it, it's just automatic.

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#37

Post by SirHound »

setr wrote: post #27
benj111 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"a mile from home. At that distance, there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to find parking any closer to where I'm going" Would you drive, just to travel a mile? Barely seems worth it in the best case. That's without getting into the environmental and social issues.

If parking were easily available & free, then whats the downside? 15 min + a bit of effort versus 5 min and no effort... and you have the convenience of having a car nearby for your next thing (eg lunch). The choice seems obvious to me.

Health

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#38

Post by theriddlr »

I live in Bristol, UK. I walk fast because I know where to go and because I have lots of errands to run. Another reason is to avoid beggars and charity muggers (chatty fundraisers hired by charities to approach people on the street and ask them to make a cash donation/recurring donation) from chatting me up because I appear busy.

Re: Why People in Cities Walk Fast (2012)

#39

Post by Balero »

theriddlr wrote: post #38

I live in Bristol, UK. I walk fast because I know where to go and because I have lots of errands to run. Another reason is to avoid beggars and charity muggers (chatty fundraisers hired by charities to approach people on the street and ask them to make a cash donation/recurring donation) from chatting me up because I appear busy.

I walk slow because some tourists have stopped to take a photo of a Banksy again. And also because of hills.
Post reply on HN