You can tell a lot about a city by running along its pavements.
If, like me, you live in Joburg, jogging is often hazardous and difficult with mangled paving to contend with, not to speak of missing manhole covers, presumably stolen for scrap.
Running is optional and enjoyable, but for thousands of weary pedestrians, walking these ragged paths is a daily grind.
Drivers are another hazard, as was the case during a 21km race I undertook in the suburbs last weekend. At one point, a taxi driver put foot towards a clump of runners, hooter blaring, wilfully ignoring race marshals. Just another spiteful road user among many thousands.
For all of its space and road networks, Joburg has few safe public jogging and cycling areas beyond a handful of city parks and out of the way suburbs.
Conversely, downtown Durban has a magnificent promenade that accommodates walkers, skaters, runners and cyclists. So too uMhlanga where the beachfront regularly buzzes from 5am.
In Cape Town, meanwhile, tempers have flared this week over Sea Point and its public spaces, chiefly the banning of bicycles from the pavement (as opposed to the impressive promenade that stretches for around 11km).
It’s a fraught issue that has raised hackles. In Europe, meanwhile, major cities have embraced cyclists and designed extensive pathways to accommodate them.
Sport and physical recreation are an important social phenomenon, and essential for health, but SA cities are generally poorly designed for this purpose.
Cape Town has a spectacular mountain that attracts hikers, trail runners and cyclists, but it also has a safety problem. The surrounding area is a muggers’ paradise and despite policing efforts, crime is rampant.
Meanwhile, on Chapman’s Peak last month, a Ukrainian hiker was stabbed to death. It’s a ritual that plays out with frightening frequency across South Africa.
The quality of urban public space plays an important role in promoting physical activity among people, but this can’t be done at the exclusion of safety or an awareness of the surrounding area.
One of the problems with SA cities is that people have withdrawn into their own spaces chiefly on account of crime. Social integration takes place less and less, as reflected by our high walls and closed windows. (I walk my suburb, gaining tremendous comfort from having my German Shepherd alongside).
Social inclusion, which can be fired up by recreational events like cycling or jogging, can only take place in an area that is comforting and welcoming, something that few local cities have grasped.
Properly designed urban spaces - that blend accessibility, safety, comfort, choice and sociability - would encourage people to leave their homes, some to exercise, some to hang out.
Great public spaces serve as the heart of a community, bringing together people who ordinarily might not mix and encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
The trouble is that these areas are exceptions to the rule. They stand out as beacons for people who want to suck in the sea air and exercise, but it’s not enough. Not until city fathers grasp the benefits of health and wellbeing and make it part of urban planning policy. They might be surprised at how much social interaction (and inclusion) flows from doing the right thing.