The first health vulnerability that she and her family will be exposed to is the increased risks of injuries due to motor vehicles crash while walking along the roadways. Recent research has shown that at least 4500 pedestrians are injured or killed in the traffic motor vehicle crash due to lack of sidewalks. As a result, the woman can be exposed to the risk of an accident, which can deteriorate her health. Also, living in neighborhoods without sidewalks means that she and her children do not have the opportunity to walk. Sidewalks allow people to have free mobility from one place to the other. Walking has a health benefit to individuals. The woman and her children are therefore exposed to the health risk of getting various diseases such as obesity, heart problems, and diabetes whose chances are reduced by walking or taking a physical exercise. Boarding a motor vehicle every time from home to work and back home can increase the chances of getting chronic diseases. Sidewalks could have allowed the women and her children the opportunity to walk freely without fear of their safety.
These vulnerabilities can be reduced by the construction of sidewalks and paved shoulders to increase the safety of the pedestrians. Paved shoulders have safety benefits as it has been reported to reduce car crashes on pedestrians and improve the roadway's drainage ( Mullaney, Lucke & Trueman, 2015 ). Sidewalks, on the other hand, can increase safety benefits, enhance free mobility, and promote a healthy community. Sidewalks and paved shoulders can specifically benefit the children who are at the highest risk of a car crash while using the roadways. With these improvements, health problems due to accidents and car crashes can be reduced, thus promoting healthy living for the community around. The overall benefits increased the safety and health of the community as a whole.
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Reference
Mullaney, J., Lucke, T., & Trueman, S. J. (2015). A review of benefits and challenges in growing street trees in paved urban environments. Landscape and Urban Planning , 134 , 157-166.
