Washington DC’s infamous Walter Reed Army Medical Center is set to close in 2010.

In an effort to subsidize the city’s subway system, the medical center purposely limited the number of parking spots, forcing staff to use public transportation.

Combined with the fact that buildings are subject to a height restriction in DC, the campus became increasingly sprawled as it expanded, forcing staff to walk longer distances.

Val Jones wonders if staff complaints about the long walks played some sort of role, as she’s seen fierce competition for the scarce parking spots, “consistent with Americans’ general unwillingness to adopt an active lifestyle.”

Assuming that the closure will likely cost upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars, is this sedentary attitude “costing us all so much more than we realize?”