It's not just driving. The company I work for has an office in Marseille, France. At that office, there is a beautiful staircase that spirals around the middle

It's not just driving. The company I work for has an office in Marseille, France. At that office, there is a beautiful staircase that spirals around the middle of an open central area. In the middle of that area is a tiny, metal elevator. Virtually everyone takes the stairs, and the elevator is basically only there for the physically impaired. At the US office, the ONLY access to higher floors (mind you, the building only has 4 floors total) from the lobby is through two large elevators. To even use the stairs you have to enter through a back alleyway, and the stairs themselves are the basic dungy "pretty much emergency use only" type stairs. I see this pattern everywhere, where basic design and access flow in the US discourages even the slightest amount of physical exertion.