Alissa Walker: Walking Is the Best Way to Go Slow

Walking is many things: A way to think, a way to daydream, a way to relax, a way to exercise, and a way to be less hurried.

In this episode, I dig into the wonders of walking with the aptly named Alissa Walker, the urbanism editor at Curbed, a denizen of Los Angeles (who doesn’t own a car!), and a woman who’s dedicated to hoofing it.

Alissa and I talk about how walking enriches the rhythms of your day, gives you more inspiration and mobility for creativity, and allows you to engage with your city in a deeper way.

Key takeaways from the conversation:

How walking re-engages you with your local community and makes you a better citizen

Why walking and taking public transport open you up to serendipity

Crazy stats on why walking makes you happier and healthier

The benefits of walking meetings, walking interviews, and walking dates

Experiments you can do to start walking more

Go Deeper

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Get Jocelyn’s brainwaves in your inbox. If you like Hurry Slowly, you’ll love this twice-monthly email highlighting new ideas about how to be more creative, productive, and resilient. Sign up at hurryslowly.co/newsletter.

Favorite Quotes

“I think just being able to surrender yourself to the city, and letting yourself be confronted with all the occurrences (good and bad) that might happen on your way from getting from one place to another — it’s a different way of moving about your day — and it will change your brain.” “We’re a culture that is going to kill ourselves one way or another as far as our choices about transportation — through either climate change, air pollution, or just the fact that we’re not moving as much as we used to.” “I don’t know how to convince people of the gift that you get if you allow yourself to go home a different way, or jump on a different bus, and just let yourself get a little lost.”

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Resources

A short list of the studies, books, and tools that come up during our conversation:



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