Exponentially better | Walk left, stand right | Bon vivant | Flaneur | Tweets are my opinions

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Bixi




I try never to miss an opportunity to tell people that "city living can be healthier and more environmentally friendly than it gets credit for" (nearly to the point of being annoying, as my friends are likely to lament). I'll get that "what are you smoking?" look, but I can't fathom any other conclusion. The Bixi bike system is a great example in support of such madness.

Health and the City



There is plenty of research documenting the fact that urban living can be more healthy than suburban living. In answering the question "Are the suburbs a health hazard?", cardiologist Dr. Kim Connelly finds:

"The suburbs are a nightmare — a total planning disaster. People move in because they're affordable, and then they can't do anything.
"They're in the car all the time. You get this big house, but studies show that the rate of heart attack increases with the length of time you are stuck in traffic." (emphasis supplied).