From The Atlantic Cities — Is Being Able to Walk Around Your City a Right?

• SARAH GOODYEAR

The ability to walk from one place to another is one of humanity’s defining characteristics. Using our two feet to carry us about our business is one of the basic functions that our species was designed to fulfill.

And yet in many parts of the world, pedestrians have become so marginalized that exercising performing this fundamental human operation has become life-threatening.

The situation is bad enough in developed countries such as the United States, where elaborate auto infrastructure has systematically displaced and excluded pedestrians and where nearly every citizen owns a car.

But in countries of the global South, such as India, the conditions for people on foot can be even more dire. To call attention to the appalling situation faced by pedestrians in the city of Chennai, the newspaper The Hindu has launched a campaign called “Right to Walk,” which aims to "reclaim our city’s footpaths" and "goad local officials to act." Read more: Is Being Able to Walk Around Your City a Right?