Why

Americans
Walk Less than
Europeans
Vocabulary
density
The city has a high population density.
pedestrian
Even though it's quite hilly, Edinburgh is a pedestrian-friendly city.
condition
Front-line medical workers say conditions in hospitals are worse than the government claims.
spiral
The financial crisis set off a spiral of unemployment, with layoffs becoming more and more frequent.
discourage
The new policy aims to discourage the use of cars in the city center.
Article
Why Americans Walk Less than Europeans
Cars have been part of the "American dream"
of a more comfortable life for everyone for
about 100 years. So it's perhaps no surprise
that Americans walk much less than
Europeans.

The average US adult makes about 12% of

their daily trips on foot — less than half the
percentage of trips people make on foot in
some European countries, according to a US
study.

People in the United Kingdom walk for 26% of

their trips, compared with 24% in France, and
22% in Germany and Finland, the researchers
wrote in the journal Sustainability.
But it's not only their famous love of cars that's stopping Americans from walking more.

The US has a lower population density than many European countries, meaning many Americans need
to make longer trips for work, shopping or visiting friends.
Pedestrians in the US are also up to 10 times more likely to die in an accident than those in Germany,
Denmark and the Netherlands.

And while walking has become safer every year in many European countries, the rate of pedestrian
deaths in the US rose by 25% from 2010 to 2020. The researchers said one reason for the rise in
deaths could be an increase in the average size and power of US vehicles.

"People walk less in the United States because it's more dangerous to walk here and walking
conditions are worse compared to other countries," said study co-author Ralph Buehler. "So we're
caught in a bit of a spiral that discourages walking and encourages driving in the US."