By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
For students, hearing the phrase “college is the best time of your life” is a regular occurrence. It’s usually one of the first times after high school that a person gets to experience freedom and begin developing their own identity separate from their family and hometown influences.
But why exactly are adults classifying it as the “best time of your life” when freedom and experimentation with one’s identity don’t end in college? Sure, for some people, college comes with fewer responsibilities, but for those of us working jobs or playing a sport, expectations seem more minimal after college.
College is the only time in most Americans’ lives when everything we need to live is within walking distance. Food, friends, exercise and education all exist within the means of most campuses.
The Journal of the American Planning Association published an article that tested the desires of Americans to live in walkable cities. The results concluded that Americans were overall more happy in walkable neighborhoods.
“Higher levels of walkability did predict greater satisfaction with neighborhood appearance, which in turn predicted higher happiness,” the article reads.
Walkable cities, where people can coexist with everything they need, are one of the missed opportunities of American culture. In reality, college is one of the only places to experience that feeling.
The benefits of proximity provide a sense of community and convenience for students. Instead of having to commute to work, restaurants, gyms and social outings, students can walk to them and increase their dopamine while getting exercise. Campuses also usually give a sense of safety when walking.
While students inherently have to walk to get around on campus, after graduating, most spend the majority of their day sitting at a desk, creating a lifestyle where walking has to become an intentional occurrence.
If more cities were structured like college campuses, it would increase happiness in adults, provide an outlet for exercise and reduce car pollution. Currently, the most walkable city in the United States is probably New York City, arguably because there is no room for cars. Similarly, college campuses are able to meet the needs of humans in more ways than any “car-centered” town ever could due to the convenience and time spent exercising instead of driving.
College campuses are built to provide more face-to-face interactions and community inclusion. Having friends within a reasonable distance and going to class, eating, studying and socializing with them all in the same place provides a sense of unity that American cities have missed the mark on.
