[czstar]

In the U.S. walking has even been criminalized to some extent for those in out groups. For instance, if 4 black teenage boys walk together in an affluent, white neighborhood they can expect police to stop them. Walking is so rare that a small group of people walking together is seen as something out of the ordinary. I think it’s bad for society to be set up this way.

https://illinoislawreview.org/print/vol-2017-no-3/the-crimin...

[verall]

I walked a block with a friend yesterday next to a relatively busy feeder and someone in a passing car screamed at us. It's not a rare occurrence, I have plenty of memories of walking to the nearby gas station convenience store as a 13 year old and the same happening.

People really underestimate how antisocial people are to walkers in the US.

[psychomugs]

There's something dehumanizing about seeing most others on your commute as large metal fortresses instead of actual human beings.

[bigDinosaur]

Well the issue can be even more profound than that: areas that actually physically cannot be walked at all (excluding technicalities like walking on busy roads). On the bright side, you can't be arrested for walking somewhere that doesn't even let you walk there.

[Aeolun]

That is something I’ve never encountered anywhere except bridges. Just because there’s no road there doesn’t mean you can’t walk (unless the space next to the road is air/water).

[smsm42]

This article doesn't talk about "walking" though. It talks about two things - jaywalking, i.e. walking in places designed for motor vehicle traffic, and minor children walking on public street unaccompanied by adults. While both have arguments in favor of current regulation being excessive (the latter probably has much stronger case, my whole generation's childhood is "child endangerment" by these laws, I wonder how we survived) - you comment implies it's about generic walking and racial angle, which it is not.

[woweoe]

Yes but that is nothing to do with walkable cities.

[syzar]

A second order effect of criminalization of walking is a culture that does not value walkability. People are so accustomed to non walkability and so unaccustomed to groups of people strolling about that it does not even occur to them to think about what a loss this is.

[bsedlm]

of course it does have to do with walkabale cities.

to walk in a city that is not set-up for walking is clearly an odd thing to do.

if the city were set-up for walking and people walked it, a group of 4 persons walking wouldn't be an oddity

[kordlessagain]

Can you please cite some sources where it has been criminalized (made illegal) as you claim?

[syzar]

There’s a link in the post you responded to. That’s the source you are looking for.