Walk Laramie

My capstone project focuses on marketing new walkable infrastructure to the Laramie community. Walkability can be a very subjective term. There are many facets as to what makes a city more or less walkable. The physical layout of cities for one determines a lot about walkability. Many US cities are laid out in a manner that separates living spaces from workplaces, grocery stores, dining locations, exercise locations, schools, outdoor recreation areas, and peer community members' housing. Within the metric of layout, one person's ability to run errands is a key determining factor of walkability. Errands can include dropping kids off at school, heading to work, going to the gym, picking up lunch, taking a stroll in the park, or visiting a friend. Aside from distance of location, a city's walkability also has to do with safety and convenience. These categories call into question the quality of sidewalks, neighborhood crime rates, bike lanes, handicap-accessible neighborhoods, location of affordable healthy grocers, and more. The idea of walkable cities is a newer notion that overlaps with fields of social equity and opportunity. If an individual does not have a car in the United States, they are not given the same quality of life and accessibility compared to someone with a car. Walkable cities are also associated with increased citizen health as well as lower environmental impact. My capstone will be exploring how Laramie's walkability can be increased in comparison to other US cities. The project then takes the next step of discussing and developing marketing materials to increase public opinion in favor of walkability. In a car-dependent community, like Laramie, public opinion matters for new infrastructure changes and growth. As a part of the UW Honors college, working on my capstone means being curious and asking questions about how to better my community.