The residents of today’s urban areas tend to spend an increasing amount of time indoors, causing various health and social issues. This tendency, although driven by the widespread accessibility of delivery services and social networks, can be effectively corrected through targeted state and community actions.
Primarily, this trend is driven by rapid infrastructure digitalization, which makes staying at home highly convenient. Social networks have largely replaced real-life communication, and the widespread accessibility of delivery services encourages individuals to obtain food and goods without stepping out of their flats. As a result, many people no longer feel the necessity to go outside. For instance, during and after the pandemic, the popularity of remote work and online platforms surged by a wide margin, forcing millions of citizens to adopt an exclusively sedentary lifestyle.
To tackle this issue, city authorities should create an attractive and accessible open environment, motivating people to spend more time in the open air. Developing green zones, safe promenades, and bicycle tracks could become a powerful stimulus. A comfortable and secure urban environment would encourage people to enjoy the outdoors in lieu of wasting time on social networks. By way of an example, the presence of free parks, public sports infrastructure, and recreation areas successfully attracts locals and stimulates them to go out for walks regularly.
To conclude, modern-day digitalization keeps people confined to their apartments, unwilling to spend time outdoors and communicate with others. Nevertheless, developing attractive urban infrastructure is the key to returning them to the streets.