More on the U.S. Surgeon General's Historic Pro-Walking Stance

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

1 minute read

September 12, 2015, 1:00 PM PDT

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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

Wednesday, September 9, 2015 in The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Land Use Transportation Urban Development United States Surgeon General Active Living Public Health Active Community Design Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy Walkable Cities Complete Streets Multi-modalism View More

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