Published On: December 10th, 2015|

The Atlantic – Ashlie Stevens

“Two University of Kentucky students pause in front of a streetlamp in the middle of campus. One holds his phone up to a bright blue sign attached to the pole, and steadies his camera over a QR code. “I had no clue that was three minutes away,” his friend says…This scenario is a common occurrence since the installation of nearly 80 signs around campus as part of Walk [UK], a collaboration with the civic startup Walk [Your City]. The bright blue signs show the distance in minutes to on- and off-campus destinations that may be closer than students, staff, and visitors realize…the U.S. Surgeon General issued a statement in September promoting walkable communities as a public-health strategy…The University of Kentucky Hospital physician Connie Jennings posits that the technology may have a positive effect on student health. “This is the first generation that may live shorter lives than their parents, and inactivity plays a huge part in that,” Jennings says.”(more)