Oklahoma City
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TED Talk: OKC Mayor Mick Cornett on Designing a City for Fitness
I got to know Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett last year, when I interviewed him at the annual meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors. We talked about his realization that he and his constituents (generally speaking) were obese, and how he stood in front of the elephants at the zoo on New Year's Eve six years ago and announced that the city was going on a diet. He set out to have the residents of Oklahoma City lose a million pounds -- and the city achieved it.
January 6, 2014
Highway Revolts Break Out Across the Midwest
The evolution of state and regional transportation agencies is painfully slow in places like Missouri and Ohio, where officials are plowing ahead with pricey highway projects conceived of decades ago. But plenty of Midwesterners have different ideas for the future of their communities, and they aren't shy about speaking up.
June 28, 2013
FHWA: Oklahoma DOT Must Consider Restoring Street Grid in Downtown OKC
In a rare victory against state DOT standard operating procedure, residents of Oklahoma City last week managed to compel the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to consider a redeveloped street grid as an alternative to a wide, high-speed boulevard through the city's downtown.
June 24, 2013
How Mayor Mick Cornett Fought Oklahoma City’s Brain Drain and Weight Gain
Mick Cornett, Oklahoma City's Republican mayor, has made it his mission to make his city healthier and less obese, in part by improving its walkability. The city lost a million pounds during his weight-loss campaign -- and then they took a freeway out of the middle of downtown and overhauled its built environment.
January 25, 2013
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett: We Have to Build This City For People
In 2008 Mick Cornett, the Republican mayor of Oklahoma City -- ranked as one of the fattest cities in the country -- stood in front of the elephants at the zoo and announced he was going on a diet, and taking the rest of the city with him. Oklahoma City lost a million pounds, 37 of which were his.
January 24, 2013