Take a hike!

Of all the places I’ve had the opportunity to visit, Venice, Italy stands out as being unique for a simple reason: no cars!

That’s right, an entire city where there are no cars.

Coming from a culture that has a long, almost emotional “love affair” with the automobile, it was almost mind boggling to visit a place where cars simply don’t exist.

Even if you wanted to have a car shipped in, you couldn’t drive it anywhere … there aren’t any roads! At least, not the kind we have in America. Instead, there are canals filled with water that are maneuvered by boats and gondolas, and paths for walking that are often just wide enough to comfortably walk side-by-side with someone.

The difference is a much more intimate city.

Just during the few days I visited Venice, I found I had a much greater feel for this city because I explored it on foot. You can’t escape the greetings from shop owners standing in their doorways, or the occasional conversations with locals and herds of tourists you share paths with. You’re forced to be up close and personal with everyone and everything. Instead of getting in a car and driving by people and places, you walk alongside them in Venice.

The same was true when I lived in Hawaii because I lived in Waikiki, a place where I owned a car. But I didn’t use my car in and around Waikiki, only when I traveled further into Honolulu and beyond. That’s because Waikiki is a compact and congested city of highrises that makes getting around in a car difficult. By traveling around Waikiki on foot, I got to know the city — and the people in it — much more personally than if I simply drove from point A to point B, bypassing everyone.

The lessons of Venice and Waikiki stay with me: if you want to understand your community better and more intimately, spend some time walking through it. By traversing your town on foot, you’ll notice places you never knew existed, you’ll meet people you didn’t know, and you’ll get a better feel for how people live there. The great value of walking through your community is that you’ll purposely take note of it instead of passing it by, and that will broaden your understanding of the people and the place around you.

Scotty