Can urban design improve the environment? If communities could be designed to reduce automobile use, then yes. But can urban design influence travel? Surprisingly perhaps, the effects of any specific neighborhood feature on travel behavior at the margin are all but unknown. The policy significance of this issue is reflected in the swelling popularity of the "new urbanism" and other planning strategies employing land use tools to mitigate the environmental impacts of metropolitan development. In addition to asserting that development patterns and densities affect how far, how often, and by what means people travel, urban designers frequently argue that the legibility and shape of the local street pattern play a key role. "Connected" residential blocks are thus associated with less driving by comparison with the circuitous routes of the modern suburban cul-de-sac -chiefly by reducing trip lengths and facilitating pedestrian and transit access.Remarkably, there is little empirical and theoretical support for these claims. This paper provides the first direct tests of these hypotheses within a consistent behavioral framework. An analysis of household travel diary and GIS data for San Diego finds little role for land use in explaining travel behavior, and no evidence that the street network pattern affects either short or long nonwork travel decisions. While results may vary in other areas, the empirical argument for using land use as an element of regional air quality or other environmental plans remains to be demonstrated.

A myth is a symbolic structure which expresses moral and aesthetic values; it is the realm through which ultimate reality is mediated to man. Ernst Cassirer notes that one of the central qualities of a myth is its social nature, and social myth since the Greeks has been a mixing of the mythic with scientific analysis.Sport as a conveyor of social myth functions both as teacher and interpreter of social reality, and is often found embodied in the "Heroes of Sport." The hero will embody some attributes of the myth and will affirm the myth by illustrating its reality. The hero shows us what we ought to be, and we make him a hero because we wish to be what he is. John W. Ward, in Andrew Jackson: Symbol for an Age, identified the three themes of the American myth as Nature, Will and Providence. The heroes of sport often express one or more of these themes. MythsVoltaire once said that the study of myth was a pastime for blockheads. It is the purpose of this essay to sample the rich territory of myths and heroes in relation to sport in America, to suggest some areas for further exploration and at the same time, avoid validation of Voltaire's assessment. Voltaire's comment was typical of the Enlightenment, that curse which continues to inhibit our vision. His real objection to myth was that it did not deal with events within time; it failed to be empirical. In this sense, he was correct. Myth is not empirical ; it is not grounded in the world of fact. What, then, is it? To pose the question is simple, to answer clearly is not. Myth deals with the symbolic relations in the world of value, and myths are symbolic structures which express moral and esthetic values.

A multibillion-dollar entertainment empire, the National Football League is a coast-to-coast obsession that borders on religion and dominates our sports-mad culture. But today's NFL also provides a stage for playing out important issues roiling American society. This updated and expanded edition of NFL Football observes the league's centennial by following the NFL into the twenty-first century, where off-the-field concerns compete with touchdowns and goal line stands for headlines. Richard C. Crepeau delves into the history of the league and breaks down the new era with an in-depth look at the controversies and dramas swirling around pro football today:  Tensions between players and Commissioner Roger Goodell over collusion, drug policies, and revenue, including analysis of the 2020 collective bargaining agreement  The firestorm surrounding Colin Kaepernick and protests of police violence and inequality  Andrew Luck and others choosing early retirement over the threat to their long-term health  Paul Tagliabue's role in covering up information on concussions  The Super Bowl's evolution into a national holiday Authoritative and up to the minute, NFL Football continues the epic American success story.

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