Walking has plummeted across America
Walking for everyday transportation is declining across the United States, even as rates of obesity, diabetes, and pedestrian deaths rise. Commenters point to car-centric urban design, suburban sprawl, weak traffic enforcement, and social stigma around walking—often tied to class, culture, and politics—as deeper drivers of the trend than individual choice alone. While some note that walking and running as exercise remain popular, others argue that meaningful change would require long-term shifts in infrastructure, land use, and attitudes toward cars.
Data, Measurement, and Methodological Doubts
- Travel behavior is inferred from anonymized mobile and GPS data; some see this as a useful output of “mass surveillance,” others are uneasy.
- Several commenters question how “walking trips” are defined: long exercise walks may count as one trip, while short parking-lot walks count as many.
- Theme-park and tourist areas (e.g., Orlando, Las Vegas, Disney parks) likely inflate local walking statistics, despite being car-dependent overall.
Generational Blame vs. Structural Causes
- Some blame “boomers” for car-centric culture, weak walking ability, and NIMBYism that shaped suburban sprawl.
- Others push back: generational categories are seen as overbroad and divisive; racism, corporate interests, and long-standing urban design choices are cited as deeper causes.
- Consensus that even if one generation “ages out,” infrastructure and land-use patterns will take decades to change.
Obesity, Health, and BMI Debates
- Thread notes very high US rates of overweight/obesity, linking them to declining walking.
- Dispute over BMI: some say the “fat end of normal” is already unhealthy; others argue BMI is flawed for tall or muscular people and culturally skewed by an increasingly overweight population.
Exercise vs. Transport Walking
- Distinction drawn between walking as transportation (declining) and walking/running as deliberate exercise (still popular, e.g., Strava heatmaps).
- WFH, online shopping, and video-on-demand reduce incidental walking; some say WFH also enables mid-day walks.
- Strong advocacy for walking and broader exercise as key tools against type 2 diabetes, metabolic disease, and weight gain, sometimes seen as more impactful and psychologically easier than strict dieting.
Car Culture, Stigma, and Safety
- Many anecdotes of US environments where walking is rare, viewed as suspicious, poor, or “weird,” sometimes drawing police attention or verbal harassment.
- Others report no such problems, underscoring regional, racial, and class differences.
- Commenters link car dominance to suburban land use, long distances, and “boring” walks lacking destinations or street life, even where sidewalks exist.
- Rising pedestrian deaths amid less walking are attributed to large vehicles and rampant, weakly enforced distracted driving.
Politics and Urban–Rural Divide
- Higher walking in “blue” states is tied more to urban density than ideology; many note US political splits often mask an underlying urban–rural divide.