🚶 Stat of the Day: Pedestrians in large US cities are walking faster and doing less socializing than ever before, per a new analysis published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. People to cities: Hey, we’re speedwalking here (bangs on hood).

• Researchers found the average pedestrian walking speed increased by 15% between 1980 and 2010, while the time spent lingering in public spaces was cut in half, based on analysis of video footage from New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia.
• And while the percentage of pedestrians walking alone remained relatively stable – from 67% to 68% – the frequency of those solo walkers creating a group declined, indicating fewer overall interactions in public spaces.

Bottom line: The study’s authors say their findings suggest urban residents increasingly view streets as thoroughfares, rather than as social spaces like previous generations.

🤔 Did You Know? The terms First World, Second World, and Third World originally stemmed from Cold War-era political alliances. All NATO-aligned nations represented the First World, any Warsaw Pact member-nations – including the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba – were the Second World, and any non-aligned countries were the Third World.

📰 Worth a Read: Stuck in a Traffic Nightmare, a Region Turns Its Anger on a 3-Inch Figurine → (Wall Street Journal)