Slaves to Our Cars: Americans Work Two Hours a Day to Own a Car

Spring is in the air, and unmet New Year’s resolutions are nagging in the back of many of our minds. What better time to walk more? We’re not just talking about walking for the sake of exercise. No, we mean actually walking to get somewhere. It’s antiquated. It’s charming. Thankfully, it’s also the new black.

Many cities are battling sprawl with new urban design that promotes walking. Denver, Colorado, was recently recognized for making progress on this front in The New York Times. In 2010, the Huffington Post selected its picks for the most walkable cities in the world, which, incidentally, didn’t include Denver.

Newspaper coverage isn’t necessary, however, to find out if your hood is a good place to walk. This (albeit dated) 2000 census charts which cities are commuting by foot (or bike and public transport), and walkscore.com rates areas, using a score from zero to 100, to define not only cities, but which neighborhoods are great for pedestrians. Some cities, such as San Francisco, list these neighborhood walk scores on real estate listings.

For those who are ready to get out of their car, but can’t stomach the slow pace of walking, biking is the other obvious option. Grist reports that only 3.84 minutes of an American’s workday goes toward paying for a bicycle versus 2 hours of daily work to cover a car. Did you know that we’re actual slaves to our cars?

The benefits of walking and biking are obvious to both your health and the environment. If you’re already going places by foot or pedal, Mountainfilm in Telluride salutes you. If you’re not, we hope to motivate you to get outside to enjoy the pleasant cadence of your own footsteps or the hip perspective from the seat of a bicycle.