So, you want an affordable, good-sized house. To get it, you have to move far away from the city. This was the prevailing direction of housing migration in our country for many years, and it is the birth of what is now called the “suburban sprawl”. But along with the sprawl in the suburbs came the need and the dependence to our cars, and this, according to Jeff Speck, was the beginning of a decline in our health, an economic instability, and significant environmental consequences.
In this TED talk, Jeff Speck is talking about how rethinking the design of our cities (and suburbs) is going to make a difference in the way we live, how the disappearance of the “useful walk” is linked to obesity rate among adults and at an alarming rate among children.
Besides the diabetes, asthma, and heart disease linked to a car-centric lifestyle, he also mentions the fact that many people die in car crashes. He says that a city designed around cars is “good at smashing them into each other.”
He also talks about one city in America (can you guess which one?) that moved away from that model and how that changed the quality of life of the people living in that city and the advantages of moving away from a car-centric way of life.
He makes a very persuasive argument and I really enjoyed watching this. I would like to see more people having access to walkable / bikeable places and more complete streets where everyone can share the road while feeling safe at the same time.
This is just a preview; there is a lot more learn in his talk. Hope you enjoy it too!
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