Boomer Multi-Modal Trail Development Influence on our Nation's Cities
Aerobic Conditioning Equipment
Senior Citizens and Big Guns Go Together
There is no question why so many boomers find that fitness activity built into lifestyle results in health benefits and quality life experiences. The first of the baby boomers are now hitting age 65 this year. And as the original inventors of aerobic conditioning, creative leisurely outdoor activity and balanced nutrition diets; understand active healthy lifestyles achieve long-living centurion benefits.
Yes, this boomer generation is the inventor of the treadmill, aerobic exercise and physiology science and popularized golf-tennis activity within senior living communities. They are also the generation that produced specialized nutritional diet supplementation and prescriptions to regulate blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. And now more than ever, you’ll notice that your state legislature is incorporating land use policy in favor of multi-modal access to city center economic hubs. And this is accomplished at the local level by investing in parks, trails and pathways for walking, jogging, biking and fun outdoor family activity. By doing these things is also creating fit-healthy self propelled “green” corridors as a multi-purpose transit concept-to-reality that’s good for your health and environment, with even bigger benefits to our nation’s overall health.
Why is this occurring now? The crux of our nation’s obesity problems, illness and disease and health reform problems is only the tip of the iceberg when looking at what’s contributing to our national debt. And to make matters worse, combine the cost involved in dealing with our traffic congestion, finite energy resources and carbon emissions. The boomer movement understands exercise activity is the common denominator to resolve many problems that face our nation today.
And our boomers know only too well, that daily exercise activity is an addictive influence that starts by giving people access to walking trails and pathways in their own back yard. It stands to reason, if you have access to walk freely within nature and through your back yard, you are then more motivated to keep your car parked and walk to your favorite social settings and stores for convenience items while gaining a fitness benefit. This is more than just an upcoming trend; I see it as a sign of a cultural change that will stay the course for all generations to benefit.
And in what geo-dimensional (land use) way is this cultural transit change progressing with/without your knowledge? Look around your neighborhood and you’ll notice more sidewalks and back yard trail accesses to linear parks and city center hubs. There are many land acquisitions our local and state government is purchasing to inter-connect neighborhood residents to parks and city centers for convenient access to retail, social and other transit hubs to travel to other distant areas without the use of a car.
And now this multi-modal access is intermixing with our Interstate highway corridor facilities. And this transit connection concept is having a huge influence on the framing of our society’s active living experiences with origins that evolved right in our back yards through the boomer aerobic fitness movement. Let’s break this picture down a bit more to further understand the benefits of these multi-modal pathway corridors to inner city shops, services and a places people also want to spend their leisurely time with family.
Let’s focus first on the trail activity that makes use of walking, jogging, running, and biking. From everything I’ve read and have personally experienced, exercise activity for boomers allows them to maintain their mobility independence in nature as exercise activity options. In my opinion, and when I look at all the benefits derived from aerobic exercise activity, I’d have to say walking, jogging and biking is the most important piece of healthy aging and longevity mix. In my opinion, any walking activity appears to be “the best” centurion exercise longevity secret [see “Ikaria Lifestyle Boasts Longest Living People, 24 December 2009, Woodard].
More now than ever, you see aerobic conditioning and self propelled people mover and pathway technologies advance to a degree that truly works the science of exercise physiology on human mobility, while mindful of environmental sustainability.
Our boomers influence on the outdoor connectivity development through multi-modal pathway design is evolving into a rapid reality to travel without the use of a car. Why is so much tax payer capitol being used to make this mobility transit shift? Because it’s a win-win for local and state government and all that make use of these inner city transit facilities. Boomers want access to exercise activity that propels them in a fit-healthy, clean and safe environment to retail and social centers while receiving a fitness benefit. They are also extremely concerned about escalating health care costs and environmental damage caused by carbon emissions. These boomers represent a huge demographic within society [around 77million] and they are leaving a legacy for the betterment of for all generations to come.
What better way to influence the reduction of vehicular congestion and carbon emissions, while encouraging our youth’s behaviors to get out and active within the environment. And this boomer influence has not stopped at multi-modal pathway connections to inner cities and communities. In fact, on a national scale, these pathway fitness facilities (trails & linear park pathways to cities, etc.) are converging with our Interstate highway systems to reach distant locations within a metropolitan area and beyond. Interlinking in a way where pathways are connected to transit bus and railway transit stations throughout our Interstate corridors. This type of development is creating a whole new dynamic in the way we think about propelling ourselves to work-shop and spend our free time with family. And is also having a big impact on the way our cities and business communities must change supply and demand economic models.
A good example of how this change is influencing our travel and fitness habits: You begin the day by riding a bike, or walking from your back yard to town [a shop and walk if you will] then back home. Or you may decide to ride a bike along a 5 mile path to a city transit light rail plaza station. You get on light train rail for example with your bike, [or lock it in a bike locker]. Then get out after 10 miles of traveling on rail, then bike 5 more miles to your final destination, and then return back by bus, or rail.
People crave fitness activity once they get up and active. Many of these converted travelers also crave social experiences and love multi-modal access to the outdoor environment free of traffic congestion. This multi-modal transit connection craze shows no sign in slowing down. Instead, multi-modal highway transit concepts to interlinking cities within metropolitan areas are at full planning and implementation stages. Within the next 10-15 years and within developed metropolitan areas, the use of the car will truly be minimized as increased multi-modal transit facilities pop up all over our back yards.
Now you can see the cultural shift in terms of how our boomers see the benefit of multi-modal fitness and green benefits and its influence on our future land use, economic and transportation planning strategies. And in the same light, you can see the benefit to our countries overall fitness, economic, environmental, natural resources and health care systems. In bringing community together by way of fitness activity, “in my opinion” is the “boomer influenced catalyst” that will truly launch our nation into a healthier and more productive 21st century.
