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Take a walk on your city

15.Oct.2007

Every city has its particular characteristics and its own perception of beauty. But a big part of its urban population doesn’t know much besides their neighborhood and shopping malls. People now take the car to get anywhere, even if it’s just around the corner or just spend endless time in the traffic. Most of the times it isn’t the fastest way to get where you want and normally it isn’t the most relaxed one. However, everyone seems like addicted to the commodity.

The level of traffic usually found in cities doesn’t help anyone. The quality of life decreases with all the pollution, noise and longer commute times. Car emissions have a large responsibility on the environment degradation, and all the advances in cleaner engines don’t seem to be leading to a great decrease in short/medium term.

I live in Coimbra, a medium size city with a long historical record. It’s also know as the city of knowledge, with a deep relation with its university, one of the Europe’s oldest. I already have driving license but still don’t own a vehicle, and so far, I won’t be needing one. You can say that in Coimbra everything is close. All the major landmarks, services and stores are located around the town center and it’s got a very decent public transportation system. Basically if you can’t walk to your destination, you will find a bus that can take you there. And there’s always a different route you can take. However, still many don’t take this advantages, and still drive randomly, flooding the streets, although Coimbra usually hasn’t any severe traffic situation.

I’ve compiled a small number of photos of things you will miss in Coimbra, if just take your car every day. I encourage you to try and do the same on you site. Take a walk, catch a bus or the subway, and enjoy the best your town as to offer. Besides helping the environment, you’ll might just fall in love with your city, like I did with mine.