Americans Do Not Walk the Walk and That's A Growing Problem

"'Americans now walk the least of any industrialized nation in the world,' says writer Tom  Vanderbilt. To find out why that is, Vanderbilt has been exploring how towns are built, how Americans view walking — and what might be done to get them moving around on their own two feet."

"Talking with Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep about what is wrong with Americans' relationship with walking, Vanderbilt says, 'The main thing is, we're just not doing enough of it.'"

"'We've engineered walking out of our existence and everyday life,' Vanderbilt says. 'I even tried to examine the word 'pedestrian,' and it's always had sort of this negative connotation — that it was always better to be on a horse or something, if you could manage it.'"