Sarah Goodyear

Last week, several of our Streetsblog Network member blogs picked up on a recent policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), "The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children." It examines how sprawl harms the nation's children by reducing physical activity, and how denser development, traffic-calming measures and more parks could result in better health for America's young people.

We talk a lot on this blog about the way that government policy can help to create livable streets. But we don't often discuss the role that individual property owners can play when they're inspired to create a more pedestrian-friendly space.

This morning, Jeff Wood at The Overhead Wire points us to a newly released measure of CO2 emissions from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (which just won a 2009 MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, BTW). He says maps like these help to show why the need to change land-use patterns is vital for reducing greenhouse gases:

So, we all love a good street party, yes? But at some point, the party is over... right?

Coming off a weekend in which New York City gave one of the most famous stretches of street in the world to pedestrians, we're going to San Francisco to take a walk with Streetsblog Network member Pedestrianist. They've got a post on the inadequacy of that city's sidewalks -- and a few very simple suggestions for improvements:

Earlier this week, Brad posted a piece about a recent pedestrian death pedestrian critically injured by an SUV on 14th Street, asking "Is Death an Appropriate Penalty for Jaywalking?" in which he included some fascinating historical information about how jaywalkers have been demonized over the years.

As the reauthorization of the federal transportation bill draws nearer, the need for clear, simple explanations of why reform is important grows greater. The folks at Transportation for America have stepped forward to make the case with Route to Reform: A Blueprint for a 21st-Century Transportation Policy, a 100-page document that lays out the most important issues. In the coming weeks, they're going to be breaking it down further. In a blog post today, T4A is talking about "performance objectives" related to health and safety:

Congestion pricing may be dead in New York, but the discussion about its merits continues elsewhere. Today, David Alpert at Greater Greater Washington looks at how road pricing could dramatically change the traffic situation in the DC area:

There's a lot of focus this month on getting more people out and about on their bikes. We posted last week about the effort to normalize bike commuting, a topic that as usual sparked a lot of discussion about sweat, appropriate clothing, secure bike parking and, of course, safety.

This morning we're featuring a post from Streetsblog Network member Where, an always thought-provoking international blog that "brings together urbanists from all walks of life living in cities around the world to poke, prod, and otherwise examine everything urban in an effort to maintain a global conversation about this increasingly vital subject matter."