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.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
How Atlanta Built 7,000 Housing Units in 3 Years
The city’s comprehensive, neighborhood-focused housing strategy focuses on identifying properties and land that can be repurposed for housing and encouraging development in underserved neighborhoods.
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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