The National Physical Activity Plan Alliance gave the United States an F for walkability because of its lack of pedestrian infrastructure.
The United States has a long history as a car-centric country. This makes Americans heavier, their streets more dangerous, and, what's more, "America’s car-centric development isn’t doing us any favors, remaining an impediment to higher levels of walking and walkability, a new report shows," Ben Schiller reports for Fast Company.
The National Physical Activity Plan Alliance (NPAPA), which grades cities on their walkability, gave the country a failing grade for walkability. "The U.S. gets an overall F grade for biking and walking projects, because less than 30% of states meet the standard of $5.26 per state resident funding for such infrastructure," reports Schiller.
FULL STORY: The U.S. Is Failing At Making Its Communities More Walkable
Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law
Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.
What the ‘Walk Score’ Misses
A popular walkability assessment omits key factors that impact different demographics and can direct development resources to already wealthy neighborhoods.
The Natalist Case For Sprawl (And Why It Fails)
Some commentators defend anti-urban government policies such as exclusionary zoning on the basis that homeowning suburbanites have high birth rates. But this doesn't seem to be true in recent decades.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.
Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.
When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions