Walking throughout the life course: an analysis of the 2017 National Household Travel Survey

Before taking my first urban planning courses in 2019, I saw exercise as the only real connection between walking and health. We all know exercising more is supposed to help us stay healthier longer. But as I learned more about the rich historical linkages between the fields of public health and urban planning, and about how our health and social needs become more intertwined throughout the aging process, I started to make new connections. I learned that walking has the potential to keep us anchored in our communities. Older adults who can safely walk are more likely to be able to age in place & enjoy their lives independently for longer. Living in walkable communities builds stronger social ties among neighbors of all ages. Walking can help connect us to the people, services, and environments that keep us healthy, even if it's not the only mode we use to get from place to place. This is, of course, a simplification of the complicated associations between walking and wellbeing. But these are some of the realizations that inspired the work I've focused on for the past few years. 

 My dissertation focuses on measuring the associations between walking adoption and frequency and health status during key life course stages including aging, disability, and immigration.  

I wanted to better understand who walks, how much, and what health-related and social environment factors might affect these choices. 

I used NHTS 2017 data to measure associations between weekly walking patterns among older adults, disabled non-elderly adults, and immigrant young adults.