Choosing Shoes for Walking Downtown

By Michelle Williams and Lyn Cannaday

In the last few weeks, newspapers from the Washington Post to the Times of India have all carried stories about the long-term health dangers of wearing high heels. The College of Podiatry released a study in 2013 showing that within one hour, six minutes and 48 seconds, high heels begin to hurt. Worse, in the long term, poor footwear can cause health problems.

This is no surprise for women, so we set out to find out how women, and men, decide on their on their footwear.  Given the long distances to affordable parking and severe heat, are people in Phoenix more likely to go for comfort? Do they focus on appearance? Are they attracted to the discount bin at the local shoe store?

While national papers trumpet the number of women who still choose high heels despite the pain, people in Phoenix seemed to overwhelmingly choose comfort over fashion.  Even those sporting five-inch-heels said that foot comfort was a major part of choosing their shoes.

Of course, not everyone agreed. Phoenix, like other major cities, has a die hard core of women who don’t worry about the future.  They focus on fashion and let the foot damage fall where it may.

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Classmate Eva Coleman shows off her shoes outside the dining facility at Taylor Place on the ASU Downtown Campus.

Jacques Kapelemba, economics major, propped his comfortable shoes on a chair outside the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.