What if transit stations enabled land use for the sake of walkability and bikeability as much as parking lots dictate land use for the sake of traffic? For over a century, the United States has been devoted to traffic as the predominant mode of transportation. We live further apart, personal vehicles have become expensive obligations, and the availability of parking and traffic flow is an essential concern in urban development. Freedom to Move tells the engaging history of how we got here. While acknowledging our current reality, this book asks how we can improve it. By redeveloping land use within a three-mile bikeable radius of existing rail transit stations, we could realize immense improvements to safety, fitness, affordability, water and air quality, public health, and real estate markets. The author uses data to argue for freedom of choice―how we can move beyond the inevitability of car dependence, and how that benefits all of us. "Cunningham charts a bold new course for American cities by centering future growth on our nation?s transit stations, weaving history, theory, and strategy into a compelling case for freeing travelers from a century of traffic and restoring genuine choice in how we move." — John L. Renne , Henry Shane Professor in Real Estate and Urban Planning "Why do we get in a 4,000-pound car to drive two miles to get one gallon of milk? Freedom to Move provides strong data about how, for the past century, our transportation model has had extraordinarily negative impacts on public and private expenses, our environment, including climate change, public health, loss of a sense of community, and so forth. The title suggests the way to start the journey to better finances, health, environment, and stronger communities, among others. A major goal is to allow walkable mixed use within biking distance of all transit stations in the United States, and to restore choice for millions of Americans to walk, bike, or use transit, not just traffic. This book is a must-read." — Parris N. Glendening , former governor of Maryland and visiting senior professor, Johns Hopkins University Alan Cunningham, MS, MCP, PhD, LEED-AP, AICP is a transportation planner, landscape ecologist, and watershed conservationist who has worked with civil engineering as well as state and metro community planning efforts, including award-winning and innovative work in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Washington.