Why don’t Americans walk more? The crisis of pedestrianism. (Hat tip: Ray Sawhill)
The United States walks the least of any industrialized nation.
I noticed, when I lived for a year in the U.S. a decade ago, that the suburbs in the area I lived weren’t particularly designed for pedestrians; there were no sidewalks in the commercial areas, and no crosswalks at intersections in the same areas. Owning an automobile was critically important, to get around there.
But I also noticed my roommate once driving from our apartment to the restaurant across the road – and that was not across a major road, just a small-traffic road into a commercial area. I razzed him over it mercilessly. 
