Why We Don’t Like to Walk

The factors that make Indonesians not like walking

Photo by Vlad B on Unsplash

Walking is one of the simplest forms of transportation and is also environmentally friendly. In addition, walking has other benefits such as reducing stress, improving brain function, boosting the immune system, enhancing overall health, and much more.

However, in Indonesia, walking is not a popular mode of transportation among the public. People tend to prefer motorized vehicles even for short distances.

Based on a study conducted by Stanford University, as reported by The Jakarta Post (sorry, I couldn’t find the original article), Indonesia ranks last in terms of average daily steps, with only 3,513 steps per day. I won’t focus on debating this data; I’ll instead focus on what I observe in my daily life, where I don’t see many pedestrians in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta and its surrounding areas.

Here are some factors I believe influence the culture of walking in Indonesia:

Climate

Photo by Refhad on Unsplash

The first reason is the climate. Indonesia has a tropical climate with hot temperatures throughout the year. Combined with high…