In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls talks with Peter Harnik, cofounder of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, about grassroots and legislative efforts to repurpose abandoned railroad lines as recreational trails. Harnik discusses why the United States has so many abandoned railroad lines, the process of converting a railroad line into a trail, and the legislation that provides funding for trail projects.

References and recommendations:

“From Rails to Trails: The Making of America’s Active Transportation Network” by Peter Harnik; https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496222060/

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy; https://www.railstotrails.org/

“Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/634289/stolen-focus-by-johann-hari/