[delackner]

Old age is a funny thing. A lot of people seem to think that the incredible loss of strength and stamina they experience is totally inevitable and just shrug and think "well at least I have my car to get around".

That car is a big part of WHY you feel so lethargic and dread walking further than between the car and the edge of a parking lot.

Contrast with the most pedestrian friendly area I've ever seen: central Tokyo, with density so high that within a short walk of most homes there are all the services you need. I routinely see bent over grandmas that in the US would be considered incapable of traveling outside the home, calmly and slowly walking with a grocery / walker contraption holding some groceries.