Shaping up: Home-grown app, Green WALK Hong Kong, is the pick of the mobile apps
Campaign that advocates for a low carbon lifestyle will reach a crescendo with mass walk on November 5
Everyone wants us to walk more, and, let’s be honest, we know we should.
There’s no shortage of mobile apps willing us off the couch and out the door – which is handy, considering that you wouldn’t leave home without your phone. In order to stick to what may become a daily habit, the trick is to find the one that works for you. Chances are it’ll be the app that makes walking feel enjoyable.
Yu believes that the app, downloadable from the WGO website, could be the first of its kind in the world. It counts steps, of course, but the software’s developers have found a way to convert that into carbon savings. “If 10,000 people walked 10,000 steps in one day, we could save 1,875kg of CO2,” he says.
While the organisers hope Hongkongers would use the app every day, the campaign will reach a crescendo on Green WALK Hong Kong 2016 day on November 5. Registered participants can clock up their steps (and carbon savings) while exploring the historical and cultural sites Hong Kong has to offer. A downloadable map will lead walkers to checkpoints on the day, where they will find green workshops, discount offers, freebies and photo-shooting hot spots.
This app is a product of Urban Discovery, a Hong Kong-based social enterprise with a mission to keep heritage alive for a vibrant urban future. It takes users on a curated walk as seen through a local’s eyes, recounting the stories and legends behind the quaint neighbourhoods you are visiting.
The app is navigable via five categories: iSee, iDrink, iEat, iShop and iSurprise. It won the City Tech Award at the Walk21HK conference, and received the Chapter Citation from AIA Hong Kong, a chapter of The American Institute of Architects.