New Yorkers walk fast. It’s a known fact amongst anyone who has visited before. Researchers were curious, “Can this really be true? Do people mysteriously ‘walk faster’ based off their geographical location?” Well, yes. They do. In fact, New Yorkers are the 8th fastest walkers in the world, walking at an average speed of 60 feet in 12.00 seconds (Singaporeans are the #1 fastest, incase you were wondering)(1). So it has been proven that New Yorkers truly do walk faster than most the world. But why? Well, a quick search on Reddit provided me with some solid answers. An overwhelming number of people attribute the quick speed to the need to get places and get there FAST. One user wrote, “After you miss your train by 2 seconds and the next one is in 30 minutes, you never walk slow again.” Others chose a less rational argument, choosing to throw shade on the slow walkers instead of providing any reasons for why they themselves walk fast (2). But I am here to defend those slow NYC walkers. I, myself, am a slow walker, which many of my friends and family love to roast me for. However, I have no shame. Let me tell you why.
I’ve gone to the University of Oregon for three years now– 94 weeks to be exact. I walk across campus, round-trip, approximately four times a day, four days a week. If my math is correct (I really like math BTW), that means I’ve traversed campus approximately 1,504 times (and I’ve done it slowly, incase you forgot). Nevertheless, I’ve never grown sick of these walks and my surroundings. I attribute this entirely to my speed. Walking slow, I am giving myself the time and ability to look around and admire Oregon’s evolving campus, through the seasons and construction alike. Rather than become accustomed or used to my daily route, I’ve become more invested and interested, noticing small changes and differences which others may miss. I understand how the fast walkers would get sick of their commutes. By flying past buildings and skrt-ing through shortcuts, they are failing to really see where they are. Without slowing down to admire the details, the beauty of the commute gets lost in translation. But those details are what I live for– For me, it’s never been about the destination, it’s always been about the journey there.
So here’s my Hot Take™️ on the whole “New Yorkers walk fast” situation: They need to slow their shit down. In the few times I’ve gotten to visit New York City, I’ve left feeling like I only got to see 0.005% of the place! And if I can walk through UofO’s 295 acre campus approximately 1,504 times in the last three years and still notice new things every day, then there is no way New Yorkers can claim to have already “seen” the 193,664 acres of their city (3)(4). Living in one of the most fascinating places on earth, it is a waste to never slow down and take a look around, even upwards, and see what’s there. I get that people have places to be and busy lives to live, but the culture of walking fast in NYC is wasting the city’s beauty. And to get really dark (because why not), with the current rate of climate change and the rising global temperature, NYC may be on its way to becoming an underwater city. So this coming week, if you see a girl with purple hair and white AF1′s, walking real damn slow along the streets of NYC… Hello, it’s me!
Paige Price | 5.4.2019
1. https://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/the-8th-fastest-walkers-in-the-world/
2. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNYC/comments/9djbt9/why_do_people_here_walk_so_fast/