HOOK: Rebecca Sonit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking “Walkers are 'practitioners of the city,' for the city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities, and walking is the act of speaking that language, of selecting from those possibilities. Just as language limits what can be said, architecture limits where one can walk, but the walker invents other ways to go.” Font used: http://www.dafont.com/search.php?q=1942+report Font would not work on Slideshare, switched to American typewriter.
THE BIG IDEA: Your car CAN be an inconvenience. You miss the beautiful things in life by speeding by in a car. You miss seeing what lies beyond the road.
Personal photo by J Clark
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOUR AUDIENCE? WHY IT’S IMPORTANT?: Driving in your car you can miss a lot of things. You are isolated from world around you.
CREDIBILITY: Similar to most of you, I drove everywhere. Rarely, did I get out and explore my neighborhood. In 2010, I became a full time foot traveler and my life was altered in the most positive way. I began to see what my neighborhood offered. I started to make connections with neighbors or strangers I encountered.
Personal photo by J Clark
CALL TO ADVENTURE: Life is a journey, not a destination. Park the car, explore your world on foot. Find yourself in the unknown.
PREVIEW - THREE MAIN POINTS: Three positive ways that I encourage you to become a wayfarer are 1. Walking is great exercise and good for your health. 2. Social experience can lead to positive connections. 3. Cities are rich in history and art.
POINT 1: As Americans, we really heavily on motorized transportation; “an average of 87 minutes a day behind the wheel” (factual evidence from ABC News). Walking is great exercise. According to the Mayo Clinic walking burns “204 calories an hour for the average person.” For as much time as we spend in our car daily, we could be burning almost 300 calories.
POINT 2: Walking allows for the possibility of connection and social experience. Driving in a car you are isolated to whomever is in the vehicle with you. When walking you never know who you will meet. Personal anecdote about having lived in Columbus for 5 years and not knowing many people. However, the more I walked around my neighborhood the more I got to know my neighbors and people passing through. Personal photo by J Clark
POINT 3: Every city or neighborhood has a story. Ripe with history, art, intrinsic qualities these unique characteristics are there to be explored. Smaller details are missed from a car window. You can only see what’s down an alley or the engraving in cement by being on foot. Historical plaques marking a cities story cannot be read from driving by in a car. In 2010 while walking, I came across a small wooden block with a bus painted on it, a website and a number...personal anecdote about street art and the local artists I befriended. Personal photo by J Clark
Personal photo by J Clark
Personal photo by J Clark
CALL TO ACTION: Park your car one day a week, explore your neighborhood or a new neighborhood.
SUMMARIZE THE MAIN POINTS: Parking your car and walking one day a week helps you to 1) exercise, healthy in mind and body; 2) allows for social connections; 3) history and art, free sources of entertainment.
RESTATE BIG IDEA: Your car can be an inconvenience. You miss the beautiful things in life by speeding by in a car. You miss seeing what lies beyond the road.
CLINCHER/NEW BLISS: One day a week you can explore what lies beyond your car windows. Find yourself healthier, enriched, relaxed, and entertained.