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Articles by Jay Walljasper
Tapping the Power of Place to Keep Us All Healthy
One number stands above all others as the best indicator of good health. It’s not your blood pressure, cholesterol level, average daily calories or even the age at which your grandparents die. It’s your zip code. This fact has sent shockwaves across the county. The chief aspiration of American democracy is that everyone deserves an equal opportunity for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
How to Live Without a Car
En español | Living car-free is not for everyone, no matter how dedicated someone is to saving money and the environment. Before leaping, give car-free or car-lite living a test spin first. Some folks realize by happenstance that they don't need two cars (or even one). Arlington, Virginia's Car-Free Diet program offers illuminating information as well as videos about skeptics who accepted a challenge to live car-free for a month.
Vision Zero is Looking to Make Streets Safer for People of All Ages
Americans are 16 times more likely to be killed crossing the street than by a natural disaster. Despite the attention-grabbing headlines and TV news reports that make many feel otherwise, life in the U.S. is generally becoming safer. Crime rates are down significantly in most communities. Many deadly diseases have been curbed. Fewer people are smoking. Even air and rail travel is less dangerous than in the past.
Does Walking Count as Exercise? – Mother Earth News
Does walking count as exercise? Learn the great benefits of walking and get some tips on how to get outside more and incorporate walking in your daily life. Does Walking Count as Exercise? Yes! Walking can be a great way to stay healthy and fit. Here are some ways to do it more often and make it more enjoyable. Ways to Get Outside More and Walk 1. Find your natural rhythm. Figure out the best times to walk for your schedule. Maybe it’s first thing in the morning. Or with your kids on the way to school.
The Holy Moment | Stories | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame
Editor’s Note: All of us at Notre Dame Magazine were stunned and saddened by the news of Jay Walljasper’s death after a brief bout with cancer. Jay was not only a regular contributor here, we also considered him a friend. We will miss his stories, his agile mind and his adventurous, good-hearted spirit. Here’s one of those stories.
Creating a Local 'Luvet List'
"While bucket lists are useful, even more valuable would be an inventory of familiar things all around that nourish happiness." — Jay Walljasper Photo from iStock Facebook Twitter EDITOR’S NOTE (March 2021): Livability writer and world traveler Jay Walljasper began writing for AARP Livable Communities in 2014.
To Save the Planet, Start With the Social Life of Sidewalks
The erosion of cities by automobiles proceeds as a kind of nibbling small nibles at first but eventually hefty bites. A street is widened here, another is straightened there, a wide avenue is converted to one way flow and more land goes into parking. No one step in this process is in itself crucial but cumulatively the effect is enormous. Jane Jacobs Creating the Future We Want and Need Why does social life matter so much for our sustainable future?
How to Fall in Love With the Place You Live
The city where you really want to live—that ideal place you wish your own town would become—is not some plan shining on an urban designer’s computer screen. It actually exists, and I am almost certain sure you’ve been there. At least once. Not in your dreams, but on holiday. Think about it—vacation is a week or two every year when we live the way we really want. Freed from the everyday worries about work, budgets, and mowing the lawn, we do just as please.
The Innovation That Will Inspire Millions More People to Bike
There's good news for bicyclists as protected bike lanes become more prevalent across America. You can see big changes happening across America as communities from Fairbanks to St. Petersburg transform their streets into appealing places for people, not just cars and trucks.
A Simple Idea to Transform The Life of Our Cities
I am perplexed by the almost complete lack of pedestrian districts in North America. Why is it that car-free streets—designed for pleasurable strolling, shopping and hanging out—which have become as common as stoplights or McDonalds in European city centers, are almost non-existent here?
Computers Outpace Cars as our Vehicle of Self-expression
One little noticed effect of the Internet revolution has been a significant shift in our emotional attachment toward automobiles. This could have a profound effect on the future of our cities. The car was once everyone's prized possession—a symbol of status, manliness and unlimited possibilities. As early as 1945 novelist John Steinbeck wrote, “Someone should write an essay on the moral, physical and esthetic effect of the Model T.
Around the World in 40 Places: Top Public Spaces
Every community needs a commons where people can gather as friends, neighbors and citizens. This can be a grand public square, a humble Main Street or a vacant lot with a few handmade benches where locals sit down for conversation. Or even a bridge, beach or bus station, as the examples below show. What’s important are the connections made among people, which can lead to wonderful things: friendships, love affairs, partnerships that flower into new ideas for businesses or community projects.
Autumn 2020 | 2020 | Issues | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame
Features Treasure Hunt by Jay Walljasper During which a world traveler discovers what he loves about his hometown This Side of Paradise by Miles Folsom The uplifting saga of the inmate’s quest to reveal John Milton’s secret code Serving Where It Matters Most by Sarah Cahalan ’14 The priest and the people of Our Lady of the Angels The Woman Who Made Lye Soap by Scott Russell Sanders A parable of the real wealth of nations A Practical Petition by John Nagy ’00M.A. And the hunt for a...
Treasure Hunt | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame
I paid little attention when the phrase “bucket list” drifted into everyone’s vocabulary, thanks to a 2007 movie of that name starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I was in the prime of middle age, busy raising a teenage son and working for a startup based in Rotterdam. The idea of cataloging everything I must absolutely, positively achieve before kicking the bucket seemed pointless.
Sitting Is the New Smoking: Why Walking Is the “Secret Sauce” for Better Health and Happier Communities
Whether you live in the ‘burbs, the city, or the middle of nowhere, the "wonder drug" of walking is just what the doctor ordered. Why you can trust us Researchers have discovered a “wonder drug” for many of today’s most common medical problems, says Dr. Bob Sallis, a family practitioner at a Kaiser Permanente clinic in Fontana, California.
What Your Town Can Learn From America's Most Walkable Suburb
It's got great transit, plenty of sidewalks, and values people more than cars. Why you can trust us Suburban life has always been synonymous with long hours in the car—going to work, school, the grocery store, the mall, soccer practice, and friends’ homes. Some people even drive to take a walk. Most streets were designed to move cars as quickly as possible with little regard for the impact on pedestrians.
Connecting Neighborhoods with Low-stress Bike Routes
For me, a good bike ride is both relaxing and stimulating — a chance to revel in the passing scenery as I feel the wind blow across my face. But I never expected to experience this in New York City. Navigating Brooklyn and a bit of Manhattan on two wheels for the first time was a sublime surprise. Instead of constantly peering over my shoulder fearful of cars speeding toward me (as I expected), I actually savored the street life all around while pedaling through town.
12 Reasons Why Bike Popularity Will Continue to Soar
Maria Contreras Tebbutt teaches bike safety in Woodland, Calif. Photo by Kate Hoff The following is from the report The Surprising Future of Bicycling in America. A fundraising campaign is underway to expand the report into a full-scale book. For too long biking has been viewed skeptically as a white people thing, a big city thing, an ultra-fit athlete thing, a 20-something thing, a warm-weather thing or an upper-middle class thing. And above all else, it's been seen as a guy thing. But guess what?
Challenges (and Opportunities) Facing American Cities Coming Out of the Pandemic
10 New Lessons Shaping Our Future By Jay Walljasper It’s clear that that 2020 will be seen as a turning point in history, with the world suddenly plunging into a medical, economic and social crisis affecting every sector of society. What does this mean for the future of local communities, and the growing grassroots campaigns to make them more walkable, livable, equitable, sustainable and healthy? Obviously, no one knows for certain.
Coming Out of the Pandemic-We Will Have A Greater Appreciation for Social Life
Great Places to congregate can heal us in many ways As we ponder what the world will look like coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, one outcome might be something quite unexpected— a new realization about what matters most in life. With billions of people today longing to bond again with friends and family while also mourning the loss of casual connections to neighbors and even strangers— it is becoming more clear that the foundation of our happiness and fulfillment is a rich social life.
Coming Out of Minneapolis Tragedy, the Community Creates a Healing Public Space
Community turns site of George Floyd's killing into a sacred pedestrian space A mural at the site of George Floyd's killing has become a sacred space For two weeks, the intersection at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis where Floyd died has been closed to traffic so people can mourn, connect and find a way together to stop police brutality and social inequity . And while nearby neighborhoods have gone up in flames, this place remains peaceful .
Bicycling Surges Across the US, Outpacing Noisy Critics
By arrangement with On the Commons Former New York mayor Ed Koch envisioned bicycles as vehicles for the future, and in 1980 created experimental bike lanes on 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan where riders were protected from speeding traffic by asphalt barriers. It was unlike anything most Americans had ever seen—and some people roared their disapproval. Within weeks, the bike lanes were gone.
For Healthy Communities, Look Beyond Diet and Exercise
Seattle’s economy is booming. The city ranks near the top of the list of America’s healthiest cities, and young people from across the United States dream of moving there. Yet a morning walk amid the gleaming office towers downtown reveals a different story. People sleep on the sidewalk, wrapped in blankets. A man paces back and forth violently slamming a football against his palm.
How Bicycling Infrastructure Benefits Non-Bicyclists
Even in the most crime-free of America's neighborhoods, people don't feel entirely safe when they're out and about. Drivers, some of whom view the nation's roadways as their exclusive domain, are having to contend with growing numbers of bicyclists and pedestrians. Subscribe: AARP Livable Communities eNewsletter Bicyclists, who are largely focused on maneuvering through vehicle traffic and not getting sideswiped on shoulderless streets, sometimes don't realize how they imperil pedestrians.
Analysis | A Health Breakthrough that Depends on People, Not Drugs
Meet the system stewards, people from every walk of life who improve Americans’ well-being by tackling the deeper causes of disease and despair. A surprisingly effective way to help improve Americans’ health can be found in a place you’d least expect—the Woodhill Homes public housing complex in Cleveland. That’s where I meet Marilyn Burns in the lobby of a community center the day after she hosted an arts festival for neighborhood children.
Getting Rural America Back on Its Feet
Residents in Bethel, Vermont, teamed up with AARP Livable Communities and Team Better Block to test bulb-outs, crosswalks, a mobility lane, and a parklet. The experiment led to permanent street changes and the revitalization of several downtown buildings. Photo courtesy Team Better Block.
To Confront Effects of Trauma, Start with Self-Care
Resilience practices and culturally rooted health traditions show promise for overcoming trauma in real-life settings. Why you can trust us The crowd inside a Minneapolis church hall reflects the U.S. in its full-blown diversity. People of all ages, ethnicities, and races—dressed in sagging jeans and business suits, yoga pants and firefighter uniforms, hijabs and baseball caps— stream through the door on a bright spring morning.
MDs Now Prescribe Walking as a Boost to Health
Everyone knows walking is good for you. It’s plain common sense, backed by a wealth of recent medical research. In fact, a major new study found that lack of physical activity is twice as deadly for us as obesity.
To Confront Effects of Trauma, Start with Self Care
Resilience practices and culturally rooted health traditions show promise for overcoming trauma in real-life settings. The crowd inside a Minneapolis church hall reflects the U.S. in its full-blown diversity. People of all ages, ethnicities, and races—dressed in sagging jeans and business suits, yoga pants and firefighter uniforms, hijabs and baseball caps— stream through the door on a bright spring morning.
To Confront Effects of Trauma, Start with Self Care
Resilience practices and culturally rooted health traditions show promise for overcoming trauma in real-life settings. The crowd inside a Minneapolis church hall reflects the U.S. in its full-blown diversity. People of all ages, ethnicities, and races—dressed in sagging jeans and business suits, yoga pants and firefighter uniforms, hijabs and baseball caps— stream through the door on a bright spring morning.
To Confront Effects of Trauma, Start with Self-Care
The crowd inside a Minneapolis church hall reflects the U.S. in its full-blown diversity. People of all ages, ethnicities, and races—dressed in sagging jeans and business suits, yoga pants and firefighter uniforms, hijabs and baseball caps— stream through the door on a bright spring morning. At a time when the country seems divided into ever-smaller camps, what brings 130 people from different walks of life together in this one place?
Fairest of the Fairs
Where would you see a parade of 1,200 traveling salesmen, the St. Cloud Bicycle Band, a purple cow and a chicken that dances the twist? At the Minnesota State Fair, that's where. Step right up and relive some of the great moments from Minnesota's greatest fair. 1855—The most popular attraction at the first Minnesota territorial fair was the ladies' equestrian competition which drew an unheard of crowd of 2,500.
A More Equitable Economy Exists Right Next Door
Welcome to everyday life in Quebec — Canada’s 2nd largest province with 8.2 million people. Yet these scenes of economic activity are different in a notable way from similar ones occurring throughout North America. Each enterprise involves a cooperative or non-profit organization — which together make up 8-10 percent of the province’s GDP.More than 7000 of these “social economy” enterprises ring up $17 billion in annual sales and hold $40 billion in assets (Canadian dollars).
For Healthy Communities, Look Beyond Diet and Exercise
Seattle’s economy is booming. The city ranks near the top of the list of America’s healthiest cities, and young people from across the United States dream of moving there. Yet a morning walk amid the gleaming office towers downtown reveals a different story. People sleep on the sidewalk, wrapped in blankets. A man paces back and forth violently slamming a football against his palm.
Our Bodies Are Made for Walking
Huge health benefits heighten the need to make sure all Americans live in walkable communities. Few things in life relieve stress, instill creativity and boost health and more than taking a stroll. “Walking is a man’s best medicine,” Hippocrates declared in the 4th Century BCE. “To solve a problem, walk around,” St. Jerome advised during Roman times.“When we walk, we come home to ourselves,” observes Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. This ancient wisdom is now backed up by modern science.
Livability Lessons From Melbourne, Australia
AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products, hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Find how much you can save in a year with a membership. Learn more.
How a Florida Beach Town Changed How We Live
Reader Contribution By Jay Walljasper | 6/13/2019 12:10:00 PM Tags: walking, urban planning, Photo by Dawn C. Whitty. A cozy town built from scratch in the 1980s ignited a revolution in how we design and build communities. With pedestrian-friendly streets, congenial gathering spots, and appealing traditional architecture, Seaside on Florida’s Panhandle proves we can build new places with the qualities we love about classic neighborhoods—a notion once considered an impossible dream.
How A Florida Beach Town Changed How We Live
By Jay Walljasper, originally published by Resilience.org May 28, 2019 12 Ways that Seaside—best known as the setting of the Truman Show—revolutionized how we think about cities A cozy town built from scratch in the 1980s ignited a revolution in how we design and build communities.
The Little Technology That Could
By Jay Walljasper, originally published by Resilience.org May 16, 2019 Science Museum of Minnesota project demonstrates how Advanced Heat Recovery can curb global warming, and save money too One of the important attractions at the Science Museum of Minnesota is hidden away deep in the interior of the building. Yet people still find it interesting and inspiring.
How a Florida beach town changed how we live
A walking tour of Seaside—at Ruskin Place, a square inspired by New Orleans—during the Seaside Prize celebrations. Photo by Dawn C. Whitty 12 Ways that Seaside revolutionized how we think about cities and towns. JAY WALLJASPER    MAY. 14, 2019 A town built from scratch in the 1980s ignited a revolution in how we design and build communities.
‘Anchor strategy’: Twin Cities’ urban-revitalization methods stand out
In the 1990s, futurists widely speculated that cities were no longer necessary. Why would anyone remain in gritty concrete jungles when the internet allowed us all to work anywhere we wished — deep in the woods, high on a mountaintop, nestled into a small town. Yet many cities today are experiencing levels of growth not seen since World War II — including Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Savor the Inexplicable | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame
Tragedy and joy collided in my life the week my father died unexpectedly and my wife —equally unexpectedly — discovered she was pregnant. My view of the universe changed, too, in a way I could never have predicted at the time. Up to then, I didn’t give any thought to the existence of spirits. That was for fairy tales and New Age mystics.
The man who invented 30 Days of Biking
It started with a hashtag and a tweet, five years ago. Patrick Stephenson was a shy 27-year-old copywriter for a downtown Minneapolis advertising agency whose only post-work exercise regimen was to play video games until he fell asleep and got up the next day to do it all over again. But he’d always loved bicycling; in fact, his first memory is of a bike crash as a kid that left a scar on his leg.
5 Questions About Rural Livability
Krista Burdick, LOR Foundation A view of Bozeman, Montana's Main Street to the Mountains trail system. The widening political, cultural and economic divide between urban and rural Americans has been a near constant topic of discussion in the media for several years. It sometimes sounds as if America is splitting into two hostile nations — one side prosperous, diverse, young and future-focused; the other side poorer, whiter, older and yearning for the good old days. Is this really the case?
Let It Snow: The ABCs of Winter Biking
Let It Snow: The ABCs of Winter Biking Tips for winter riding from the coldest big city in America.
The City as a Commons
The disaster with Flint, Michigan’s drinking water, incited by political leaders more devoted to fiscal austerity than the common good, illuminates why it’s important to think of our cities as commons — human creations that belong to all residents, not just the wealthy and politically well-connected.
In Praise of Vacant Lots
It’s easy to talk about the importance of the commons in grand terms—vast stretches of breathtaking wilderness, publicly funded advances in science and technology, essential cultural and civic institutions, the air and water which we all depend on for survival. But let’s not forget the lowly commons all around that enliven and enrich our lives. Things like sidewalks, playgrounds, community gardens, murals, neighborhood hang-outs, and vacant lots. Especially vacant lots.
What America’s Most Walkable Suburb Can Teach Towns Everywhere
Suburban life has always been synonymous with long hours in the car -- going to work, school, the grocery store, the mall, soccer practice and friends’ homes. Some people even drive to take a walk. That’s changing now, just like the stereotype of suburbs as places where everyone’s white, married with children and plays golf at the country club. From Bethesda, Maryland, to Edina, Minnesota, to Kirkland, Washington, citizens are reinventing their towns to better accommodate walkers.
How to Make City Streets More Friendly
Laughter, lively music and lip-smacking appreciation of food from many cultures animates St. Anthony Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota as a crowd whoops it up at the Better Bridges Bash. Even chilly temperatures and gusty winds can’t dampen folks’ enthusiasm—nor does the unpromising location right next to the roaring traffic on the I-94 freeway.
Why the Mayor of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Keeps Cooking Chili
Dave Kleis, the mayor of St. Cloud, Minnesota, has held a town hall meeting every week since taking office in 2005. He records a weekly two-minute video message. (Check them out on Twitter.) He hands out Neighbor of the Month certificates. (Neighbors nominate neighbors.) Once a month, he invites a handful of people he doesn’t know to his house for dinner. Why? “For me, it’s invaluable to hear people’s thoughts about the city.
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