Criteria for the title, it seems, is somewhat ill-directed with the emphasis being entirely on recreational walking, missing completely what it is that makes a town or city truly walkable.
In a place designed for walking, every walk becomes a recreational moment, whether you are walking to work, walking to shop, walking to a leisure event or simply walking to see a friend.
Fred Kent who created the US based Project for Public Spaces said: “If you plan for cars and traffic you get more cars and traffic, but when you design your community around people, you get more people”.
Shepparton, as is the case for most other towns and cities, has been structured around cars and traffic with the odd oasis where the emphasis has been on making the place appropriate for people as opposed to machines.
Walking in a place designed for people and around the community is always a recreational event.
Prevention Australia editor, Natalie Flintoff, said that research had shown that just five minutes of walking in a green environment lifted a person’s self esteem and confidence.
The Shepparton section on the Prevention Australia website quotes a city visitor who said: “In Shep, the Goulburn River winds its way through farms, orchards and native forests. On our walks, we watch for the abundant wildlife and get a glimpse of real Australian bushland—all just a skip away from the city centre.”
This observation, as true as it might be, is a little misleading as Shepparton proper is not really about walking; it is about driving.
Maybe Shepparton will be a winner – on the existing criteria that’s unlikely – but surely it is reason for the city generally, and the council in particular, to focus on the real value to the community in making our city truly walkable.
The switch requires undoubted physical changes, but the first and most important change is psychological as walking demands a whole new mindset.
