The population's level of physical activity is becoming a major public health concern in the United States (Wahlgren, 2011). Due to urban sprawl, Americans rely heavily on personal vehicles to get to work or other destinations. This is leading to a sedentary lifestyle for the public as they take their cars to travel to their destination. The public's perception of the environments in which they live likely influences their behaviors, leading to dependence on personal vehicles. (Wahlgren, 2011). The physical environment and people's physical activity levels are directly linked. Low-density zoning and self-dependent development result in the promotion of sedentary lifestyles. Most activities, such as going to work or shopping, require the use of a personal vehicle due to the area's isolation in residential and commercial areas (Ewing, 2010). Alternative ways such as walking or cycling are rather impractical, as areas often have few or no sidewalks or other pedestrian-friendly amenities (Marshall, 2009). The low-density design was developed because residential homes have fewer units per acre and commercial buildings tend to be just a couple of stories and spaced further apart. Lot sizes tend to be larger to accommodate large parking lots that are often oversized and unsafe for pedestrians. An effort to combat the continued development of urban sprawl, smart growth development seeks to resolve this dilemma. The idea of ​​smart growth focuses its development around compact walkable centers within urban areas. The aim of this is to avoid growing sprawl through the implementation of pedestrian, bicycle-friendly and alternative transport such as b...... middle of paper ......uated personal motivation, however it is a issue involving social and physical obstacles that must be overcome (Steinman, 2010). Environments that improve walkability are generally associated with higher foot traffic and a lower body mass index (BMI). Neighborhood safety, traffic volumes, and street speeds have been identified in ACRES and other studies as determining factors for a walkable neighborhood ( Steinman, 2010 , Wahlgren, 2011 ). Urban planners can address this problem in many different ways. Placing sidewalks and lighting to clearly guide pedestrians and creating visibility with canopy trees can create safe and inviting spaces. The problem of volume and speed on roadways can be addressed by introducing curb bulbs, roundabouts, and buffers between sidewalks and streets through the use of landscaping ( Wahlgren, 2011 , Dumbaugh, 2011 , Frumkin, 2002).