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You may have already heard of  Walk Score—an endlessly entertaining internet tool that lets people discover how pedestrian-friendly their neighborhood is.  Walk Score ranks neighborhood “walkability” based on the mix of stores and services that are within walking distance of any home in North America.  If you haven’t already, you should check it out—but only if you’ve got nothing pressing to do, since it’s pretty addictive. Now, the good folks...

A growing body of research shows that walkable, compact communities can promote good health and a healthier planet by promoting exercise and reducing the risk of obesity; lowering car crash fatalities; reducing greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle-related air pollution; and cutting down gasoline bills and oil imports.

Sightline Institute’s reports on sprawl and smart growth in several Northwest cities analyze how each city did at curbing sprawl and developing efficiently, starting with the period of the 1990s.

Years ago, I heard from an economist friend about research showing that urban rents rose with oil prices in the 1970s, while suburban ones fell. Ultimately, land values reflect the shifts in the values of many things. So rising fuel prices would be expected to have the effect of making fuel-guzzling neighborhoods less desirable and fuel-sipping ones more desirable. We’re starting to see that pattern now. Today’s top news story...

A collection of research and solutions–including walkscore.com–for creating walkable communities and why it’s important.

New studies of King County, Washington find that sprawl is linked to dirtier air and bigger bellies. Walkable neighborhoods (those places with higher residential density, more street connections, and nearby to shops, schools, and parks) appear to be healthier for residents and less damaging to air quality—even when taking into account age, income, education and ethnicity. A few key findings (liberally excerpted from the full coverage in the Seattle Times):...