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I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again: Our built environment contributes to a mental health crisis. The built environment as we know itbuildings and the spaces betweendoes direct damage to our minds. Communities developed slowly for thousands of years, but in 20th century America, the end of World War II introduced a massive population and construction boom. Land use planning has had devastating impacts on Americanseconomically, socially, and culturally. But Im not a doomer and I know these things are fixable. Not overnight reversible, but certainly fixable. Spreading us out Typical land use rules are written, updated, and enforced at the local government level. Agencies copied each other over the yearsbecause why wouldnt they? Much of what Ive learned as an adult (podcasting, publishing, propaganda making, etc.) has been taught by generous people who themselves had learned tips and tricks. So, of course, public agencies copied each other. Hey, that worked for a similar river city. Lets try it here. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/speakeasy-desktop.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/speakeasy-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Urbanism Speakeasy\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. To learn more, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/urbanismspeakeasy.com\/\u0022\u003Eurbanismspeakeasy.com.\u003C\/a\u003E","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/urbanismspeakeasy.com\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91453933,"imageMobileId":91453932,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Planning departments at city and county levels werent setting out to guide development in a way that would purposefully harm us. Quite the opposite. If a new Sears distribution center was coming to town, theyd want to map out a plan to accommodate all the new employees and subsequent traffic. In the middle of the 20th century, planners were still very much concerned about separating dirty and/or dangerous land uses from residential areas. The result was that all across the country, local development rules required or incentivized development patterns that spread everyone and everything across the landscape: work zone, school zone, shopping zone, entertainment zone, and sleep zone. And then each major category started getting more prescriptive subcategories. Residential morphed into single-family, multifamily (apartments), and condos. But wait, theres more! Residential land uses started to be regulated by local governments according to lot size: garden apartments, planned unit developments, and subdivisions were each given rules. Residential use was also regulated by the type of people living in a place: public housing, group dwellings, age-restricted dwellings, renters, and owners. Promoting sprawl Local regulations created (and continue to create) sprawl in cities and the suburbs. Land use planning requires traffic engineering analysis, a process prioritizing car movement above all else. Wider roads and intersections are not just suggested but required, with the express goal to move car traffic from zone to zone as quickly as possible. When in doubt, they add more car lanes. This has been going on for nearly 100 yearswithout taking a foot off the brake. Cars and loneliness The obvious outcome of modern land use planning is that Americans drive everywhere all the time. Not just work commutes, but all the errands before, during, and after work. Half of our car trips are less than a few miles long. A quarter are less than a mile. Less than a mile in a car by ourselves. Driving is forced on Americans as the only reasonable way to get around. For most, it’s terrifying or deadly to walk or ride a bicycle, even for those errands that are less than a mile away. We’re in a car-first environment because of the organized zones developed by planners and approved by local leaders. Life in a single-occupant vehicle has its perks, like singing along to music or listening to podcasts uninterrupted. It also has its pains, like separation from other humans and mental deterioration. Loneliness is a significant variable affecting depression. Its a predisposing factor. Cigna conducted a study of 20,000 Americans and reported a jaw-dropping finding: Nearly half of adults sometimes or always feel alone. More than 40% said their relationships arent meaningful and they feel isolated. Actual and perceived social isolation are associated with early death. Your mind tells your body that its just not worth living. Julianne Holt-Lunstad is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University. She says the health risks of missing out on social connection are like smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Worse yet, theres a causal relationship between social isolation and suicide. Conversely, having a crew (social support in doctor jargon) has a protective effect against suicide. For every suicidal death, another 20 people attempted suicide. What to do So what do youdo with all this heavy information? First, remember that the built environment is deliberately planned for us to drive in cars from zone to zone. Planners arent trying to destroy our minds, but the built environment increases anxiety, depression, isolation, loneliness, and suicide. Humans are not meant to be alone all the time. Even when youre hauling kids from school to soccer to the tutor to dinner to whatever else, youre isolated from social interactions. The kids are watching videos or scrolling through their phones. Second, understand the land use catastrophes are reversible. Compact development won’t be legalized overnight, but reform can come as quickly as local leaders are willing. Theres no need to wait on a national referendum or the president representing your favorite team. Walk-friendly, bike-friendly, and transit-friendly places are good medicine, and theyre made possible at the local level. Third, share your car-life stories with me. I’m producing a documentary about unhealthy infrastructure. Specifically, Im focused on ways our minds and bodies are crumbling because of how places and spaces are planned and built. If youre interested in sharing what its like to be dependent on a car, or what its like having to wait 45 minutes for a bus, Im all ears. Finally, know that things get better in the end. The mental health crisis is tragic, but we can turn this around with something as boring as reforming land use planning. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/speakeasy-desktop.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/speakeasy-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Urbanism Speakeasy\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Join Andy Boenau as he explores ideas that the infrastructure status quo would rather keep quiet. To learn more, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/urbanismspeakeasy.com\/\u0022\u003Eurbanismspeakeasy.com.\u003C\/a\u003E","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/urbanismspeakeasy.com\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91453933,"imageMobileId":91453932,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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When Santa Claus is done delivering presents on Christmas Eve, he must get back home to the North Pole, even if its snowing so hard that the reindeer cant see the way. He could use a compass, but then he has a challenge: He has to be able to find the right North Pole. There are actually two North Polesthe geographic North Pole you see on maps and the magnetic North Pole that the compass relies on. They arent the same. The two North Poles The geographic North Pole, also called true north, is the point at one end of the Earths axis of rotation. Try taking a tennis ball in your right hand, putting your thumb on the bottom and your middle finger on the top, and rotating the ball with the fingers of your left hand. The place where the thumb and middle finger of your right hand contact the tennis ball as it spins define the axis of rotation. The axis extends from the south pole to the north pole as it passes through the center of the ball. Earths magnetic North Pole is different. More than a thousand years ago, explorers began using compasses, typically made with a floating cork or piece of wood with a magnetized needle in it, to find their way. The Earth has a magnetic field that acts like a giant magnet, and the compass needle aligns with it. The magnetic North Pole is used by devices such as smartphones for navigationand that pole moves around over time. Why the magnetic north pole moves around The movement of the magnetic North Pole is the result of the Earth having an active core. The inner core, starting about 3,200 miles below your feet, is solid and under such immense pressure that it cannot melt. But the outer core is molten, consisting of melted iron and nickel. Heat from the inner core makes the molten iron and nickel in the outer core move around, much like soup in a pot on a hot stove. The movement of the iron-rich liquid induces a magnetic field that covers the entire Earth. As the molten iron in the outer core moves around, the magnetic North Pole wanders. For most of the past 600 years, the pole has been wandering around over northern Canada. It was moving relatively slowly, around 6 to 9 miles per year, until around 1990, when its speed increased dramatically, up to 34 miles per year. It started moving in the general direction of the geographic North Pole about a century ago. Earth scientists cannot say exactly why other than that it reflects a change in flow within the outer core. Getting Santa home So, if Santas home is the geographic North Pole (which, incidentally, is in the ice-covered middle of the Arctic Ocean) how does he correct his compass bearing if the two North Poles are in different locations? No matter what device he might be usingcompass or smartphoneboth rely on magnetic north as a reference to determine the direction he needs to move. While modern GPS systems can tell you precisely where you are as you make your way to grandmas house, they cannot accurately tell which direction to go without your device knowing the direction of magnetic north. If Santa is using an old-fashioned compass, hell need to adjust it for the difference between true north and magnetic north. To do that, he needs to know the declination at his location (the angle between true north and magnetic north) and make the correction to his compass. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has an online calculator that can help. If you are using a smartphone, your phone has a built-in magnetometer that does the work for you. It measures the Earths magnetic field at your location and then uses the World Magnetic Model to correct for precise navigation. Whatever method Santa uses, he may be relying on magnetic north to find his way to your house and back home again. Or maybe the reindeer just know the way. Scott Brame is a research assistant professor of earth science at Clemson University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Costcos latest promotional offering just dropped, but members arent rushing to claim it. At select warehouse club locations, members can now take home complimentary 3-pound bags of Gala apples. The shopping warehouses unique business model, wherein membership fees contribute largely to its revenue, means that it focuses on plugging its membership more than advertising specific products. Costco puts significant effort into encouraging people to join, or upgrade and renew, existing memberships. In the past, Costco has offered enticing items like tote bags to coax customers into automatic membership renewals, but the promotional bag of apples is not as appealing, according to one Costco member. Giving away apples is like giving away white bread, they told TheStreet. Its fine, I guess, but not very interesting. Its certainly not going to get me to do anything different. Costco has previously been successful in pushing customers to upgrade to the Executive tier, which is $130 annually, with customers earning 2% cash back on most purchases, compared with $65 for the basic level. In June, for example, Costco started unveiling a new membership feature that allowed Executive members to shop one hour earlier than regular members during weekdays and Sundays, and half an hour earlier on Saturdays. The perk was generally well received. The company reported a 1% boost in sales at the end of September, and Executive memberships increased by 9%, according to CFO Gary Millerchip. Which might explain why the apples that followed seemed to fall a bit flat. Whats more, Costco shoppers have complained about employees tirelessly approaching them about memberships. Another customer told TheStreet that his membership makes sense for the amount that he shops, but he continues to face pressure. The last few times Ive gone to check out, Ive gotten the third degree about my membership, he says. Its getting really old. For years, Costcos membership system has served the brand well. But its apparent that taking a few steps in the wrong direction could turn people away. Ava Levinson This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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