Recently I became aware of a program created by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention designed to help children be more active. Kids Walk-to-School encourages children to walk or bike to school in groups and with adult supervision. The percentage of children who walk or bike to school decreased 74 percent over the last fifty years, according to Ann Sloan Devlin. Devlin, the author of What Americans Build and Why, attributes part of this decline to the decrease of neighborhood schools, the disappearance of sidewalks, the rise of the McMansion, and the prevalence of good ol’ suburbia. So, while people thought that moving out of the city into larger, more affordable homes would provide a better life for their families; instead, people became less inclined to interact with one another and the kids increasingly became more and more overweight.
I like the idea of Kids Walk-to-School. It’s proactive and seeks to involve individuals as well as state and local governments. This may be the catch though. State and local governments must be willing to set aside resources to help make programs such as Kids Walk-to-School a success. Helping to create bike lanes, sidewalks, neighborhoods where neighbors know one another, and limiting suburban sprawl will all help. It’s hard for kids to walk and bike to school if there isn’t a place to do it and if their school is 11 miles away.
Below are a few links to help those that are interested in making their state and local governments accountable.
State and Local Government on the Net
Congress.org
USA.gov
And remember, you cannot say accountability without count. One, muahaha, two, muahaha, three, muahaha…
