More on Walking and Home Buying

Walkability is the goal of the CDC’s ‘Healthy Places’ initiative.
The recent rise in gas prices and concerns about climate change have helped focus attention on the subject, but it is still too soon to know if the attention will lead to change.
The CDC’s ‘Healthy Places’ web site makes it clear that the challenge is daunting, as it calls for substantive changes with regard to future growth.
“Today, typical suburban homes sit in cul-de-sac subdivisions that empty out onto high volume roads,” it reads. “Zoning laws encourage the separation of residential areas from schools and shopping malls by long and often dangerous travel distances. Elementary school bicycle racks stand empty as parents fear for their children’s safety on narrow or traffic-laden roads. (And) pedestrians take risks as they cross dangerous intersections in communities where safe crosswalks are all but nonexistent."