Keira Giacometti

30 December 2024

Have you ever stopped to think about the sidewalks—or lack thereof—in post-World War II suburbia? It’s puzzling that, despite being imperative to well-planned urban environments, sidewalks seem to be disintegrating before our very eyes. Even parts of modern cities, like Houston, have bulldozed their walkability in favor of cars or other forms of wheeled transportation. An initial conclusion–that America’s overreliance on automobiles led to her decline in pedestrian infrastructure–quickly was proven false. Instead, evidence from the realm of sidewalk engineering and politics points to racism and the core of the American dream–individualism–as the culprits. In order to rectify the mystery of why sidewalks are being neglected, all types of communities–from rural to big cities–must come together and push their municipalities and state governments for a concrete overhaul. 

To begin, it is essential to discuss how a sidewalk is constructed. Sidewalks are slabs of concrete built on two degree slants. This angle directs rainwater to gutters, keeping the streets from flooding [1]. To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, sidewalks must feature tactile elements (known as truncated domes) at the end of their length, and have an incline of no more than eight degrees [1]. In order to accommodate the large amount of foot traffic safely, sidewalks should be six feet wide [2]. They are necessary feats of engineering designed to ensure pedestrians are not struck by vehicles while providing a safe means for individuals to walk to their destination.
In spite of how brilliant sidewalks are for urban planning, historical trends reveal an unforeseen shift in urban design priorities.  Originally, cities favored walkability over vehicles. American cities, especially those built before the invention of the automobile, were built with walking in mind. On USA Today’s top ten walkable cities list of 2024, six of the cities are located on the East Coast, which was, for the most part, settled earlier than the midwest or West Coast [3]. All ten of the cities named as such were established before 1840. These cities were not perfect places to live, but they were extremely comfortable to walk around without the risk of being struck by a moving vehicle. Nowadays, it seems modern city planning has shifted away from walkability. Why did we move from easily accessible clusters of life to the middle of nowhere? And why didn’t our sidewalks come with us?

In the aftermath of WWII, many Americans moved out of the cities, motivated by a desire for a more rural lifestyle [4]. These newly suburban neighborhoods were built to emphasize the non-urban qualities of the land: lots of greenery, larger houses, and, most importantly, no sidewalks. Their refusal to install useful walkways came with two excuses. While the sidewalk erasure can be chalked up to the expensive cost of construction, there are two socio-cultural factors at work as well. 

The first: urbanism. The word “urban” sometimes has a racial charge in America; there are ‘good parts’ of the city, and ‘bad parts” [4]. ‘Bad parts’–which generally are the locations where ‘urban’ is used the most–are devalued, with less investment in the area and less incentive to upkeep [5]. These areas tend to be predominantly Black or Latine, with White people living in the ‘good parts.’ This breakdown is due to old U.S. policies, such as redlining, which was developed by the government in 1934 to decide which areas received mortgages [6]. Red areas (where Black people tended to live) were considered undesirable and thus ineligible for loans [6]. Even though these policies have since been removed, the stigma continues to stain these areas. As urbanization progressed, the old redlined areas were ignored or gentrified, resulting in disarray. 

People living in these poorer parts of the cities tend to lack access to suitable public transportation and safe walkways [2]. Their sidewalks are crumbling, cracked, and jagged. Local governments do not want to put the money in to fix the problem, though not necessarily for nefarious reasons. Sidewalks cost between $150,000 and $250,000 per mile [2]. The national government doesn’t have a say in sidewalk construction; responsibility instead falls on local public councils, cities, and municipalities [2][7]. Money to refurbish the sidewalks come from the Federal Highway Association’s general fund, which is financed through property and sales taxes, not the federal government’s purse [8]. Without sufficient funding allocation, necessary repairs are unlikely to occur. Likewise, what resources are available may instead be diverted to improving more affluent or ‘flashy’ parts of a city. 

As previously stated, the people who moved to the suburbs after WWII did not wish to be reminded of urbanism. Thus, sidewalks did not get to make the journey to the suburbs—cars did. Debates over urbanism have played a significant role in the absence of sidewalks. However, there is another motivation behind America’s dwindling sidewalks: individualism [4]. 

In the suburbs, an individual family owns their belongings and properties: a house, a backyard, a car or two, and more. This stands in stark contrast to cities, where individuals share resources such as public transportation, apartment buildings, and sidewalks. Additionally, the suburbs also tend to be more spread out than cities. Sidewalks exist only in small stretches, or have been substituted for tiny sides of roads, grass, or “stroads,” which are dangerous, inexpensive streets designed like roads [9]. Because of the lack of safe or efficient walking options, people have been pushed into cars to get around, or are subjected to poorly-maintained footpaths to walk even just a few blocks. 

This discrepancy between location and walkability is even more pronounced in rural towns, where cars are a must to arrive at any destination farther than a mile away [10]. Rural roads are often built with agricultural vehicles, such as tractors, in mind, and have to be built around the natural terrain, limiting the amount of safe walking opportunities [11]. Moreover, state highways tend to pass through rural main streets, which requires the town centers to prioritize easing the flow of traffic [11]. These towns were not built with walking in mind, and thus, the rural areas have to redirect their attention to upkeeping the roads as opposed to putting in new sidewalks and risk ruining the surrounding landscape or agricultural opportunities.

America’s lack of sidewalks has led to numerous pedestrian deaths and injuries. In 2023, 7,318 people were killed after being struck by a car [12]. Many of these accidents happened at night, where there were not sidewalks, and the drivers could not see the pedestrian [12]. Factors contributing to these statistics are higher speed limits, distractions–both at the expense of the driver and pedestrian–and environments that prioritize cars [6]. Traffic law enforcement has also weakened since the pandemic, allowing reckless driving to become more prevalent [12]. 

Recall that sidewalks cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to install and maintain, and that most of the funding comes from the investment allocated by the FWA. It’s imperative at this point that the FWA chooses to increase the amount of money delegated to sidewalk rehabilitation. The additional funding would create a safer environment for those who choose to navigate the world without a car. 

Not only do sidewalks help prevent accidents, but they play a crucial role in offering a sense of community. Vendors can set up shop, runners can run without the risk of being struck, children can play outside safely, and benches could be placed along the sidewalks to give people a place to sit, rest and watch the world around them [2][3]. 

Establishing sidewalks requires civilians to prod the city or municipality, as they have control of when, where, and why sidewalks are constructed. They have to approve the budget for these projects. Yet, there may be a simpler way to bring sidewalks to the suburbs and improve the ones in ‘bad’ parts of the city. Instead of relying on sporadic initiatives, cities could take a more proactive approach that defines where sidewalks should be built, assign a yearly budget, and put together a program that helps reform walking in their vicinity. Rather than an immediate overhaul, a phased approach over five to ten years would allow for thoughtful sidewalk refurbishment established by policy makers that would return walking to its place on the list of safe and convenient transportation options. Walking should be celebrated not just as a mode of transportation, but as a fundamental aspect of communal living. 

Cities and municipalities must put the effort into making sidewalks the lively environments they once were. They have to be the ones to disassemble the racial connotation of the word ‘urbanism,’ as it was their policies and biases that created that connotation in the first place. They also have to start erasing the concept of individualism from everyday life. Our growth from a community to a society primarily concerned with ourselves and our lives has affected urban planning. We cannot let the isolating, individualistic mindset and the ‘I, my, mine’ belief epidemic leak into the simplest and most crucial aspects of our life. We cannot let our beliefs and governmental policies ruin the communities human nature is so talented at cultivating. The more isolated we become, the harder it will be to fix what is broken.

Improving–and in some cases, reintegrating–sidewalks into human society will drastically improve our way of life. They will allow for both an increase in community and safer transportation, and they will make communal surroundings appealing to the eye. The FWA must put the funding towards the sidewalks before they disappear for good.

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Image via Flickr. “Long American Sidewalk,” Dave Winer. https://www.flickr.com/photos/scriptingnews/2525966545/in/photostream/

Works Cited

[1] Farmer, Brian. “WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW about SIDEWALKS (with ENGINEERING) – MPA Matters.” Unc.edu, 28 June 2019, mpamatters.web.unc.edu/2019/06/28/what-you-didnt-know-about-sidewalks-with-engineering/.

[2] Cummins, Eleanor. “Consent Form | Popular Science.” Popsci.com, 10 Apr. 2018, http://www.popsci.com/politics-versus-sidewalks/.

[3] 10Best Editors. “Step Right Up: 10 Best Walkable Cities for Tourists in the US.” 10Best, USA TODAY 10Best, 26 June 2024, 10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/most-walkable-city-to-visit/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

[4] “Where Does the Sidewalk Begin? Rethinking Suburban Streets in the Time of COVID-19 – Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.” Institute for Transportation and Development Policy – Promoting Sustainable and Equitable Transportation Worldwide, 21 May 2020, itdp.org/2020/05/20/where-does-the-sidewalk-begin-rethinking-suburban-streets-in-the-time-of-covid-19/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

[5] LSE. “Inequalities in Urban Planning: A History of Detroit | LSE Research.” YouTube.com, 2021, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytqJKy9KIOc. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

[6] Bartolotta, Al. “Racism in Urban Planning.” Forward Pinellas, 13 Aug. 2020, forwardpinellas.org/transportation-disadvantaged/racism-in-urban-planning/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

[7]: “Sidewalk Improvement Program for Homeowners | the Oakland Plan.” Engage Pittsburgh, 2020, engage.pittsburghpa.gov/oakland/strategy-sidewalk-improvement-program-homeowners. Accessed 16 Oct. 2024.

[8] Federal Highway Association. “7 Funding | FHWA.” Dot.gov, 2024, highways.dot.gov/safety/pedestrian-bicyclist/guide-maintaining-pedestrian-facilities-enhanced-safety/7-funding. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

[9] Not Just Bikes. “Why City Design Is Important (and Why I Hate Houston).” Www.youtube.com, 19 July 2021, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxykI30fS54. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

[10] Link, Abby. “Unlocking the Potential of Rural Walkability.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, 24 Apr. 2023, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8a3404d7b7f84fa9ae9304f198dd3b01.

[11] U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks. 2016.

[12] Governor’s Highway Safety Association. “Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2023 Preliminary Data (January-June) | GHSA.” Www.ghsa.org, 2023, http://www.ghsa.org/resources/Pedestrians24.