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posted Jan 22, 2024

STEP IT UP! The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities

The Call to Action provides strategies that communities can use to support walking, which we hope will result in long-lasting changes to improve the health and health care of Americans today and of the generations that follow.


posted Jan 2, 2024

Winter Placemaking Guide

by 8-80 Cities

The Winter Placemaking Guide is dedicated to community leaders, policymakers and all types of community changemakers who seek to improve their surroundings during the winter season.


posted Oct 25, 2023

Walk Audit ToolKit

by AARP

A self-service guide for assessing a community’s walkability.


posted Oct 18, 2023

The Pop-Up Placemaking Tool Kit

by Team Better Block, AARP

Projects that inspire change — and improve communities for people of all ages


posted Oct 4, 2023

How to Build Safer Streets Quickly and Affordably

by Alta Planning + Design, California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike)

The California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) and Alta Planning + Design are excited to share this Quick-Build Guide for quickly and inexpensively creating safe spaces on our streets for people to travel by bike, on foot, on a scooter, by skateboard, or by any other low-impact, low-cost mode of transportation.


posted Sep 26, 2023

Safe Routes to Parks

by National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)

Adults living within a half mile of a park visit parks and exercise more often, but according to the 2014 State Indicator Report on Physical Activity, less than 38 percent of the U.S. population lives within a half mile of a park.


posted Nov 4, 2021

The Milwaukee Method of Creative Placemaking

The Milwaukee Method focuses on culturally-sensitive neighborhood development based on the interests of independent and institutional stakeholders. The method acknowledges that cultural workers such as artists, makers, and creative entrepreneurs are critical to influencing neighborhood development.


posted Nov 13, 2020

PedNet is Making a Difference on the Ground in Missouri

by Josh Adams

American Trails contributor Josh Adams recently interviewed Lawrence Simonson, who serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of the PedNet Coalition, to talk pedestrian safety, projects and obstacles, and making a difference in Missouri.


posted Jul 23, 2020

Active Transportation Transforms America

by Rails to Trails Conservancy

American communities today are at a crossroads. For the past 70 years, the automobile has been the dominant mode of transportation and has received the lion’s share of federal and state transportation investment. Engineers have prioritized maximum car throughput and free-flowing speed or level of service as markers of transportation efficiency and success. Now, communities across America are looking for ways to strike a better balance so that residents might have more transportation choices and a higher quality of life. Multimodal transportation systems that prioritize human-centered mobility are in high demand.


posted Jun 11, 2019

Akron Civic Commons: A Story of Robust Collaboration and Reconnected Communities

by Dan Rice with Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition

Akron is reconnecting people, not online, but in our trails, parks and community centers.


posted Jun 4, 2019

Rails-with-Trails: Lessons Learned

by Jared Fijalkowski with Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Eli Griffen with Rails to Trails Conservancy

This session demonstrates how communities can develop Rails-with-Trails that facilitate both rail and active transportation.


posted Mar 26, 2019

Business as “Un-usual”

by The Intertwine Alliance

A Portland Vision for Fostering Health and Nature in our Increasingly Urban World