#jeff spec

We are a destructive species, and if you love nature, stay away from it. The best means of protecting the environment is to live in the heart of a city.

Dr. Jackson is famously found of asking his audiences "In what kind of community are yo most likely to end up dead in a pool of blood?" He points to the work of Alan Durning, who analyzed the combined risk of dying from two causes - traffic crashes and crime - in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, British Columbia. He found that, on average, if you add the two factors together, you are 19 percent safer in the inner city than in the outer suburbs.

Rome, at first glance, seems horribly inhospital to pedestrians. So many things are wrong. Half the streets are missing sidewalks, most intersections lack crosswalks, pavements are uneven and rutted, handicap ramps are largely absent. Hills re steep and frequent.... And need I mention the drivers? Yet .... [t]his anarchic obstacle course is somehow a magnet for walkers.