The book that radicalized me was Urban Sprawl and Public Health. At the time I was a sophomore in college. I had been working as a nurse’s aid for a few months with Penn Medicine. I talked plenty with my sister — an ICU nurse — and I looked up to my parents, both of whom were nurses. Maybe someday I’d become a doctor and help resolve America's failing public health.

 

This is one of a few careers that I considered in college, but I didn’t find my day-to-day as a clinician fulfilling at all. I resonated with one public health expert who described it to me as “sick care” rather than “health care.” I wanted to work more upstream. 

 

Safe walks to school, useful walks to amenities, self-regulated microclimates, neighborhoods diverse in age and income, low-stress commutes, clean, connected neighborhoods,… authors Frumkin, Frank and Jackson went deep in uncovering what’s possible when we design for user choice and not just private vehicles. At least that was my reading. 

 

Today, I aspire to make America more walkable.