Remodeling the American Suburb, Obesity, Parklets and Social Media

Unlike most European countries, the United States is suffering through an epidemic of obesity, type II diabetes, and hypertension among its adults and children. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates over 35% of adults in the U.S. have obesity, and 17% of children suffer from the condition, which the American Heart Association has classed as a disease. Simultaneously, retail markets have undergone a significant centralization, the small neighborhood green grocers and fish markets are gone in most all neighborhoods, replaced with big box grocery stores selling less and less fresh foods as their supply chains stretch farther and farther across the country and the world. In a study of 13,102 adults, Rundle and Neckerman have found that walkable access to stores selling healthy foods is associated with a lower prevalence of obesity. Many other scientific studies have drawn similar conclusions, the combination of an auto-centric environment, and past generational models of centralized retail are slowly killing many Americans, and are a significant driver of societal health care costs. Americans didn’t used to be like this. Even those not associated with an agrarian or heavy industrial lifestyle were not routinely obese. Something changed in postwar planning, and postwar retail thinking and the interaction between these two factors is causing a significant reduction in the quality of life of American citizens. Yet, place an American citizen, in the early stages of the obesity in Paris, or Athens for a month, and their condition slowly begins to reverse. The National Institutes of Health recommend focusing on balancing energy taken in with energy exerted, eating healthier foods, and adopting a healthy lifestyle. But the suburban life-pattern of house to car, car to market, car to work has made the adoption of these recommendations difficult for most Americans. Before the widespread adoption of refrigeration, it was routine to walk to the store to get milk for the day, beer for the evening, fruits and vegetables for the day, and meat and fish for the evening meal. Most Americans lived near enough that they walked, purchased, walked home, and ate fresh food, not canned. It was considered normal for a subdivision plan to include local retail land uses, between the streetcars or bus stop and the residential district so it was convenient to get off the bus, stop for groceries, and walk home. Everyday. This paper will propose a renovation plan for a typical Am