- The term was coined by Franco-Canadian urbanist Carlos Moreno in 2016. In a 2020 TED video, Moreno said that because of urban sprawl, “our sense of time is warped” as we adjust to the long commutes of car-concentric cities. Moreno was in turn inspired by American urbanist Jane Jacobs, who is the reason many contemporary urbanists in the U.S. praise walkability in urban planning.