BackShared responsibilty needed
Living Streets has joined the recent debate about state and personal responsibility when it comes to personal health Ministers have been vocal about the need for people to take charge of changing their own behaviour instead of relying on state intervention. However some health experts are saying that people still need some help in improving their lifestyles. At Living Streets, we think this is a shared responsibility and both parties should be clear about the role they can play.
Of course individuals should take personal responsibility for securing everyone’s good health
However, we must also create an environment which both helps people to take responsibility and positively influences good health. For example, walking is the easiest way of getting more active, reducing the risk of long-term health issues such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Many more people could be building walking into their daily routine.
However, we know that if our streets are unsafe, dirty and unpleasant places to be, then people will not walk as much as they could. Decades of car-dominated planning has made walking a very difficult option in many of our towns and suburbs. We need to tackle the environment we live in or else people will be unable to exercise personal responsibility or will be discouraged from making healthy choices.
Living Streets has always worked to bring together individuals and local authorities to deliver common aims. Our Fitter for Walking activities empowers communities to work with local authorities to get improvements made to their streets. But individuals also make a pledge to walk more - delivering personal and community success through the collaboration.
If you agree in shared responsibility for better streets then sign our pledge. If you have something different to say, why not talk about it on our forum?
Published on: 05/08/2010
