Blog

Bringing Back “Automatic Pedestrian Recall”: How Coronavirus Might Make Walking Easier in the Future

This blog was written by Ian Thomas, America Walks’ State and Local Program Director. Ian is a veteran of the walkable communities movement – he co-founded the PedNet Coalition of Columbia MO, served on the America Walks Board of Directors for seven years until his appointment as our State and Local Program Director in 2014, … Continue reading Bringing Back “Automatic Pedestrian Recall”: How Coronavirus Might Make Walking Easier in the Future →

Managing the Uncertainty of the COVID-19 Outbreak through Walking

Make no mistake- managing the uncertainty of the COVID 19 outbreak will require intentional effort and planning. We have suddenly entered a society that looks dramatically different from just a week ago and is unlike anything that (most of us) have experienced before. The constant media reporting of new cases and shifting circumstances, statewide school … Continue reading Managing the Uncertainty of the COVID-19 Outbreak through Walking →

Walking with Community

This is a guest blog post by Daniel P. Price, a Walking College graduate from Pennsylvania. I live just two miles outside of downtown Pottstown in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Like many industrial towns in PA, we’ve struggled over the past 30 years, but yet there was always a beating heart and sense of pride in … Continue reading Walking with Community →

Walking College Fellows are Changing Their Communities for The Better

Over the past five years, America Walks has graduated 118 Walking College Fellows with deep knowledge of the policy and environmental changes required to create safe, accessible, equitable and enjoyable places to walk and move.  Each fellow developed a detailed and feasible walking action plan (WAP) that they started implementing in their home communities, covering … Continue reading Walking College Fellows are Changing Their Communities for The Better →

Women of the Walking Movement: Wendy Landman

America Walks recently posed an opportunity for our audience, internal staff, and supporters to nominate women walking champions who they admire. This piece was written by Stacey Beuttell, Executive Director at Walk Boston, in recognition of Wendy’s powerful, 15-year tenure as Executive Director there.  Wendy assumed the role of WalkBoston Executive Director in 2004. In her first … Continue reading Women of the Walking Movement: Wendy Landman →

Finding Your Way: the Surprisingly Complex World of Wayfinding

This is a guest blog post by Paige Colburn, Planner II at City of Huntsville Long Range Planning, and her colleagues, whose Wayfinding project was funded by an America Walks Community Change Grant this year.  I had no idea how much I didn’t know.  Wayfinding seems simple, right? Get people from point A to point … Continue reading Finding Your Way: the Surprisingly Complex World of Wayfinding →

Walking for Civility: 5 Reasons Why Walking Is Essential for Civility, Connectedness, and Community Change

At America Walks, we believe walking and moving can be used as an accessible, gentle, and tactical intervention for division in our communities. This three-part series on Walking for Civility examines the ways the act of walking and promoting walkable communities functions as a bridge to civility, connection, and community change. At its core, civility … Continue reading Walking for Civility: 5 Reasons Why Walking Is Essential for Civility, Connectedness, and Community Change →

The Long Road to Vision Zero

This is a guest blog post by Transportation Alternatives. Transportation Alternatives’ mission is to reclaim New York City’s streets from the automobile and advocate for better bicycling, walking, and public transit for all New Yorkers. With 100,000 active supporters and a committee of activists working locally in every borough, Transportation Alternatives fights for the installation … Continue reading The Long Road to Vision Zero →

Walking for Civility: Moving Through the Benjamin Franklin Circle Virtues

At America Walks, we believe walking and moving can be used as an accessible, gentle, and tactical intervention for division in our communities. This three-part series on Walking for Civility examines the ways the act of walking and promoting walkable communities functions as a bridge to civility, connection, and community change. Benjamin Franklin Circles (BFC) … Continue reading Walking for Civility: Moving Through the Benjamin Franklin Circle Virtues →

New Poll Finds Strong Support for Investments in Safe, Walkable Sidewalks

This is a guest blogpost written by Jonathan Klingler, the principal analyst of Praecones Analytica and an assistant professor of political science at the University of Mississippi. Overwhelming majorities of Americans value safe sidewalks in their neighborhoods and believe taxpayer funding should be spent on sidewalks according to a recent poll. These findings are more … Continue reading New Poll Finds Strong Support for Investments in Safe, Walkable Sidewalks →