In this CDC-sponsored video the narrator says "(walkable communities) are no longer a fairy tale - they're a reality".  I had to laugh! it's like the government just stumbled upon this concept.  In towns like Montclair and Maplewood NJ the layout of the town has been conducive to walking for the last 100 years.  In the 1920s and 30s cars were a luxury so sidewalks were mandatory.  Shops and schools had to be within walking distance.  And train stations were a necessity. The narrator then says "walkable communities are the wave of the future".  I wonder if she knows they've been here all along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udOVeNCInrE&feature=related