The idea that Americans should walk rather than drive: "a radical idea wrapped in a banal government document."
Emily Badger follows up with the recent pronouncement from the U.S. Surgeon General that cities should prioritize healthy forms of alternative transportation.
"The U.S. Surgeon General on Wednesday proposed a radical idea wrapped in a banal government document, a 72-page 'call to action' with 359 tiny-font references: Americans, Vivek Murthy said, should walk more."
Badger argues that the U.S. Surgeon General's action reflect a sea change at the federal level—away from "cars running on cheap fuel and fast asphalt should carry us everywhere…"
Badger provides additional historic context as well as some of the reactions to the U.S. Surgeon General's pronouncement: "Smart Growth America, one of many urban-design and transportation groups toasting the Surgeon General's announcement, interpreted it with this question: What if we labeled subdivisions like we do cigarettes?"
FULL STORY: The government is trying to make walking American again
So the Chief Doc Says 'Take a Walk'
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.
Surgeon General Warning to Local Governments: Stop Being So Auto-Centric!
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."
Complete Streets Policies Still Seeking Equity
Though the quick expansion of complete streets policies is worth celebrating, minority and low-income communities are still being left behind, and killed at a disproportionate rate.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
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