Austin Named One of Best Cities to Take a Walk
Austinites are getting some more national attention for getting off the couch. Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association have named Austin the second best city in the country for fitness and walking.
This is the second year in a row that Austin has topped the list of the top 12 American cities best suited for walking. According to Prevention, the elements that make a city "fitness walker friendly" include safe streets, beautiful places to walk, mild weather and good air quality.
Some of the specific criteria the publication used to rank cities on the list include the percentage of the population that walks for exercise, the use of mass transit, the number of parks per square mile, the points of interest per square mile, the average winter and summer temperatures and the percentage of athletic shoe buyers.
The survey studied 125 of the most populated American cities, and Austin came in at number 2, just behind Madison, Wis.
"While it's nice to receive accolades, in my opinion, we're nowhere near as pedestrian-friendly as we need to be," says Austin Mayor Will Wynn. "Fortunately, the continued revitalization and repopulation of downtown, as well as other developments like the Triangle and the old Mueller Airport, are big steps in the right direction."
The results of the walking list will appear in the April issue of Prevention.
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