Active Cityscape

Craving variety is part of human nature: seeing new places, varying food from day to day and also – diversity of movement. People normally enjoy “stretching legs” after sitting and change positions even when asleep (De Koninck et al., 1983). In the gym environment people of all age groups from 8 to over 60 have proven to exercise significantly more when offered high-variety equipment. (Juvancic-Heltzel et al., 2013). While contemporary cities provide variety in terms of sight, sound and smell, they tend to limit the variety of movement. Roads and pavements are progressively becoming more “easy” and accessible, but also monotonous. Types of movements are reduced to stepping forward on flat even surfaces and stepping up 150mm-170mm on standard stairs - a very bleak experience compared to hiking ( Steemers, 2019). Any space should be accessible for all, including wheelchair users, people with neurological difficulties, musculoskeletal diseases, and impaired vision, however where there is enough space -there can be more then one way to get to those spaces, with various levels of physical challenge/adventure associated. Those opportunities for diversifying walking are especially important in the context of word inactivity pandemic. Planned exercise requires a lot of effort before even starting, these include commuting to a gym/park/dance school/football pitch, wearing gear, arranging with others, and often paying for space, equipment and tutoring. In contrast – spontaneous outdoor exercise “on the go” is much easier for beginners and is accessible for all socio-economic backgrounds. In addition exercising outside adds to sustainability as it saves energy for construction, heating and mechanical ventilation of sport facilities. That is why designing the environment offering immediate exercise opportunities/physical challenges is so important.