“Streets and their sidewalks, the main public places of a city, are its most vital organs.” - Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

In Nashville today, we see ongoing prolific new construction all around us, a housing market striving to meet demand, a desire for mass transit options to reduce ever-increasing traffic, a city swelling with new residents, and growing families in neighborhoods that desire walkability and safety. Yet Nashville is largely missing sidewalks in the majority of its neighborhoods. Sidewalks are basic: a critical foundation upon which a city can grow and thrive. Yet the issues surrounding the sidewalks (or lack thereof) in Nashville neighborhoods are complex. Short segments of recently constructed sidewalks live in isolation next to newly-developed property without sidewalks. Certain neighborhoods are devoid of sidewalks altogether, at times because of the historic preference of a few select voices. The reasons for and against sidewalks need to be actively questioned and newly reviewed, as sidewalks in their basic form are a key to increasing pedestrian safety, and their access should be universal. So, how did we get here and what can we do about it? This panel will pose these questions and more to hear from a diversity of informed perspectives and promote collaboration for positive, actionable change.