Pedestrian infrastructure in the United States, on the whole, is awful. Yes, there are initiatives and improvements happening in urban cores, but actually walki

Pedestrian infrastructure in the United States, on the whole, is awful. Yes, there are initiatives and improvements happening in urban cores, but actually walking a few miles to get from A to B is downright dangerous in many locales. Sidewalks arbitrarily vanish or degrade into rubble, unsignalled and inaccessible crossings in front of malls and retail outlets are rife, and in more places than I can count I’ve ended up having to walk in the road. This is understandable, given that many modern cities around the globe have grown explosively around the automobile - Kuala Lumpur, for instance, is spectacular in its pedestrian hostility - crossing town feels like a fever dream after playing frogger and pitfall all night - pits in the sidewalk into sewers or jagged rebar, bridges to nowhere, unshielded electrical cables dangling at face height, and even the occasional fence to hop over. We need to drastically rethink urban design around walkability - more and more folks in urban cores are choosing to eschew cars in favour of public transit and pedestrianism, as a result of congestion and consciousness about environmental impact. Simply put, cities which prioritise these values will attract the urban professionals that drive growth. Those that do not will not. It’s not just a nice thing to have, it’s a necessity in sustainable development.