Active Living

Lake Wales is redesigning its car-oriented streets to make it easier for residents to walk and bike.

January 7, 2024 - Congress For New Urbanism

A study of British cities find people living in dense urban cores are less likely to struggle with obesity and more likely to exercise—signs of higher quality of life—than their counterparts in suburban environments.

October 6, 2017 - Reuters via The Guardian

Though the role for planners in making it easier to walk was clear even before the U.S. Surgeon General urged communities to design and plan for walking, more information is needed to understand why and where people choose to travel on foot.

October 28, 2015 - Steven Polzin

The idea that Americans should walk rather than drive: "a radical idea wrapped in a banal government document."

September 12, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

No, those will not be the precise words of the forthcoming "Call to Action" by Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, but he will call on cities to "design and build roads and public places to make walking easier, safer, and more pleasant."

September 4, 2015 - T4America Blog

In 2012, Oklahoma City lost one million pounds by going on a citywide diet. Now it plans to keep the weight off by funding and building a more active, less car-centric city.

November 11, 2014 - Urbanful

When a city's tightly-gridded, walkable streets are developed with connected, convivial, complete neighborhoods, the temptation to walk, bike, and run overcome the lethargy of our modern lifestyle. See an inspiring photo essay from Wilmington, NC.

December 16, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Howard Blackson's "Next Urbanism Lab" series looks at recent trends and lessons learned for urban designers. While the Bilbao Effect, the Vancouver Model, the High Line, and Active Living may provide seductive role models, local insight is key.

November 30, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Charles Marohn turns a critical eye toward the inertia of federal transportation policy and the shortsightedness of its most treasured investment. Since America seems to be stuck with a federal transportation bill, he suggests ways to make it work.

November 25, 2012 - Better! Cities & Towns

Cities across the developing world are dealing more with rising obesity rates as urbanization occurs, reports TheCityFix's Jonna McKone.

January 13, 2011 - TheCityFix

A recent Planetizen interview on the relationship between park space and active living got me thinking about what spaces inspire physical activity and what spaces discourage it. In my old apartment complex, the indoor fitness centers were jammed while the nearby riverside walking trails were desolate, despite nearly perfect year-round weather.  Why? The trails were perceived as unsafe because they were completely isolated from view.

June 12, 2010 - Diana DeRubertis