A pedestrian perspective.
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PROVEN MEDICINE
From The Sun: ‘Take five long walks and call me next week’
Can a prescription for exercise do as much good as a bottle of pills? Steven Blair, the author of rafts of research on the medical value of exercise, says it definitely can be as effective, and he is at the University of British Columbia this week to tell newly minted doctors that very thing.
“(Medical professionals) haven’t been trained in it, so it’s not in the forefront of their thinking. And physicians are very busy. I think they just haven’t been persuaded that this is something they have to do,” said Blair.
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A LITTLE LIGHT READING
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… says Ron Richings facetiously. But this looks like a good reference for transportation professionals:
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HOW THEY DO IT NEW YORK
The Department of City Planning has produced the two-part publication Active Design: Shaping the Sidewalk Experience 
and its supplement, Shaping the Sidewalk Experience: Tools and Resources as a study focused on the critical public space network –sidewalks.
The documents present the work not from the perspective of those who drive past sidewalks or of those who construct them, but of those who actually use them. It is the point of view of the pedestrian—the person inhabiting and experiencing the sidewalk—that has been prioritized. 
Active Design: Shaping the Sidewalk Experience uses the conceptual framework of the “sidewalk room” to grapple with the complexities of the policies, players, and physical form of shaping the pedestrians experience of this space.
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[Worth checking out just for the great photos.]
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THE SADIK-KAHN TED TALK
Filmed in September, 2013:
Janette Sadik-Khan, transportation commissioner of New York City, shares projects that have reshaped street life in the 5 boroughs, including pedestrian zones in Times Square, high-performance buses and a 6,000-cycle-strong bike share. Her mantra: Do bold experiments that are cheap to try out.
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(Cycling is at 8:50. Listen for the reaction.)
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And at 11:03 “the people are far ahead of the press…”