We still need to do more to encourage walking, but there’s clearly huge pent-up demand for walkable neighborhoods and high-quality facilities that anyone can use. Small towns, rural, suburban and urban areas are reinvesting in their downtown cores and creating vibrant walkable neighborhoods like never before and reaping the benefits of better walking and biking infrastructure. The good news is that the tide is turning in communities of all types and sizes all over the country. The Surgeon General’s position makes it clear that America needs more than a simple call to “get out and exercise.” We need to build communities where walking is a safe and convenient option - so getting where you need to go can help you stay physically active and healthy. Help us celebrate this important step forward: share today’s announcement with friends and colleagues: What if we put states, cities and towns on notice that streets and roads that are dangerous by design for people on foot or bike are a prime contributor to the obesity epidemic (as well as a contributing factor in an alarming number of fatalities)? What if we prioritized sidewalks and crosswalks the same way we do sunscreen, “no smoking” signs, and preventing underage drinking? Could today’s Call to Action do the same for communities without safe places to walk? What if we labeled unwalkable neighborhoods like we do cigarettes? A similar call from the Surgeon General in 1964 was the watershed event that kicked off a decades-long decline in cigarette use. Communities that lack safe places to walk are a part of this problem. EDT.) To show how significant an issue this is to the Surgeon General, today’s announcement is only the sixth such Call to Action in the last 10 years.Īccording to the Surgeon General’s office, only half of American adults get enough physical activity to reduce the risk of chronic disease, and 10 percent of the preventable deaths in the United States are related to lack of physical activity. ( Tune into the live webcast of the event at 10 a.m. Surgeon General will kick off a new national Call to Action, urging cities and towns to consider how the design of our roads and public spaces can encourage more walking by making it easier, safer and more convenient. The Surgeon General of the United States will unveil a bold new initiative today, aiming to help Americans lead healthier lives - by making walking and physical activity built-in features of more of our neighborhoods.Ĭross-posted with Smart Growth America. | Posted by Steve Davis | 2 Comments | health, public health, surgeon general, walkability

Unwalkable