A presentation at this week's TED conference in Long Beach by business writer Nilofer Merchant explored the "quiet crisis of sore butts," and the sobering public health impacts, reports Ryan Tate.
"We’re sitting around too much at the office and particularly in meetings, says Merchant, a corporate director and former Autodesk executive. In classic TED fashion, Merchant found time in her short talk for a generous helping of statistics: People spend 9.3 hours per day on their derrieres, eclipsing even the 7.7 hours they spend sleeping. Their sedentary lifestyles contribute 10 percent of the risk of breast and colon cancer, 6 percent of the risk of heart disease, and 7 percent of the risk of type 2 diabetes."
“Sitting is so incredibly prevalent that we don’t even question how much we’re doing it ,” Merchant told the TED audience. “And because everyone else is doing it, it doesn’t even occur to us that it’s not OK. In that way, sitting has become the smoking of our generation.”
According to Tate, Merchant "swears by the practice of holding 'walk and talk' meetings," a concept that's found some influential adherents in Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey. This growing trend in "butt liberation" could provide even more impetus for planners and designers to incorporate walkability into their projects.
Read the full story: In Silicon Valley, Sitting Is the New Smoking
As Texans face soaring electricity costs, a public health crisis looms
Demand for electricity in Texas is surging, largely driven by data centers and other industries, and residential customers are footing the bill.
America faces a 'fun shortage'
The United States has lost nearly a third of its bowling alleys and a fifth of its movie theaters since 2001.
Replacing lead pipes in Chicago costs more than 6 times the national average — and authorities can't explain why
Replacing one lead pipe in Chicago costs around $31,000, while the national average cost sits at around $4,700 per line.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority