Anecdotally I started getting more on board with this movement from the increased information on urban planning from Youtube channels like Not Just Bikes & City Beautiful. I personally never conceived of walkability, having lived in car-centric suburbia my entire life. I now live in a walkable area and can confirm that, for me, my quality of life has improved.
I had an epiphany at some point when I realized my elementary school was easily within walking distance (~1 mile away) but the thought of walking or biking to school absolutely _never_ crossed my mind because I was in a subdivision and a four-lane split highway with a 55 MPH speed limit separated my house and the school.
I got into running after college and lived in a borough where things were walkable and some decent landmarks were no more than two miles away. Things felt close, and accessible. I went home for Thanksgiving once and realized that, while there were plenty of things that were kind of in range (grocery store ~2.5mi, shopping mall ~3mi, mini-golf ~1.5mi), the fact that it all ran through that highway made everything feel far, and it was never feasible to do anything but drive.
And I'm not even sure the solve needs "make my hometown area dense"! But if you had protected bike lanes on the highway and made everyone slow down a bit to let pedestrians through, that could be a massive improvement for everyone.
Now that people are working from home, it might not be necessary for suburban families to have two cars. I would know, I've been one-car for over four years now I think. Additions like walking paths and bike lanes and better bus access can make a huge difference and can save thousands of dollars a year on vehicle costs.
Joined a pinball league last year after moving cities. Not only did I fall in love with pinball(didn't grow up with any machines in my hometown) its just a phenomenal community of people who get together each week. I highly recommend anyone reading this to look for any pinball leagues in your area. Its a mixture of all sorts of people from my experience and just a wonderful social/gaming environment.
There's lots of things that happen in the wild that us humans shouldn't use as a moral compass. Also eating them involves causing these great creatures mass amounts of pain and suffering before they die. It's best to just leave them alone and let them live their lives in peace.
I love this quote by Ira though I believe the article linked and this quote aren't really discussing the same thing but certainly have overlapping themes.
I used to have a very large stride and was always known as a fast walker. Started having hip/back pain and reassessed how I move entirely and realized my long strides meant my hip and lower back shifted dramatically with each step to give my leg extra reach. Got minimalist shoes to where I don't heel strike as significantly and its reduced my stride length quite a bit thus removing that excess rotation in my hip and lower back
I like to remind myself that the society that we live in is/was created by people generally no smarter than you or I. People accept things as if a higher power is imposing their will against them to fit into these mental and physical constraints but once you start questioning the status quo, it feels very freeing.
for me, I take showers at night close to bed time. The last thing I want to experience is a cold shock to my system at that time of day. I can see it being useful in the morning though
