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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Nashville. Written by Nate Rau and Adam Tamburin.

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Data: StreetLight Data; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

There's been a staggering decline in the number of trips Nashville residents take by putting one foot in front of the other.

Why it matters: Walking is good for us — especially after a weekend of Thanksgiving feasting. And it's better for the environment if we opt to walk rather than drive when possible.

By the numbers: The number of annual average daily walking trips per 1,000 people in the Nashville metro area dropped 43% between 2019 and 2022, per a new StreetLight Data report.

There were 170 annual average daily walking trips per 1,000 people in 2022, compared to 300 in 2019.

How it works: StreetLight measures travel behavior based on anonymized data from mobile devices, vehicle GPS systems and more.

For this analysis, one "walking trip" is any trip taken by foot that is more than 250 meters — about 820 feet — from start to finish.

The big picture: Nationally, the number of annual average daily walking trips dropped 36% in the contiguous U.S. during that time.

The intrigue: "Active transportation" — that is, walking and biking — accounted for just 10% of overall trips in 2022, down from 14% in 2019.

Driving, however, is only 4% below 2019 levels — yet another sign that America is a country of car lovers.

What they're saying: It's clear the pandemic had an "obvious impact," StreetLight says. But beyond that, the group isn't sure what's keeping Americans off their feet.

Some of this could be remote work, which can make it easy to become overly sedentary.

Of note: Pedestrian and cycling groups have bemoaned safety concerns amid an alarming increase in deaths and injuries on Nashville roads.

Walk Bike Nashville hosted a memorial walk earlier this month.

Mayor Freddie O'Connell's transition team has urged the city to accelerate its safety efforts.

The bottom line: "For communities focused on safety, climate, health, and equity initiatives, an all-hands-on-deck strategy across safety, transit, land use, and more will be needed to increase walking activity," per StreetLight's report.

Walking trips have become less routine in Nashville

Wellness

There&#x27;s been a staggering decline in the number of trips Nashville residents take by putting one foot in front of the other.Why it matters: Walking is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="good for us" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/22/walking-brisk-pace-steps-health-risks-dementia" data-vars-content-id="1e73b334-feeb-47f3-a6fd-1ba48d7c2350" data-vars-headline="Walking trips have become less routine in Nashville" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/22/walking-brisk-pace-steps-health-risks-dementia" target="_self">good for us</a> — especially after a weekend of Thanksgiving feasting. And it&#x27;s better for the environment if we opt to walk rather than drive when possible.

News

Transit

COVID-19 hospitalization rates across Tennessee rose 48% between June and July amid signs of a late summer wave sweeping the country.

By the numbers: The average COVID-19 hospitalization rate nationwide rose about 17% between June and July, per the latest available Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

A new variant, EG.5, is now the dominant form in the U.S., according to CDC estimates — though it's unclear if it's directly responsible for the rising numbers.

Reality check: In both percentage change and raw terms, hospitalizations remain far below their pandemic-era peak.

They're down 82% nationally year over year, and the CDC reports 10,320 overall hospital admissions in the week between July 30-Aug. 5, compared to more than 150,000 in one week in January 2022.

Hospitalizations are down 85% in Tennessee year over year.

What's happening: Simply put, our guard is down.

Many of us put COVID in our rearview mirrors, leaving us both mentally and practically ill-prepared for another wave.

"[E]xperts warn the U.S. is lacking critical tools to help manage future waves," as Axios' Sabrina Moreno recently reported.

Zoom in: Hospitalization rates are rising the fastest in Mississippi (+73% month over month), Alabama (+66%) and Louisiana (+66%).

Yet they're down in Michigan (-32%), Vermont (-31%) and Rhode Island (-31%).

As learned from past waves, COVID moves around the country unequally, ebbing in some areas and flowing in others at any given point in time.

Be smart: With so little testing happening these days compared to the height of the pandemic, hospitalization rates are now one of the best proxies for estimating broader viral spread.

Yes, but: Hospitalizations aren't a perfect metric.

Because older people are more vulnerable to severe COVID, for example, hospitalization rates are likely to be higher in states or communities with older populations. (To that end, nursing home cases are also rising.) Vaccination rates can be a factor, too.

Hospitalization rates are also a lagging indicator — it takes time for infected people to become sick, and more time still for them to become sick enough to require hospitalization. That delay means hospitalizations are a reflection of what's already happened, rather than a useful early-warning tool.

Other signs also point to increased spread.

Wastewater analysis, for instance, is detecting rising levels of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — nationwide.

Such analyses are especially useful in a world with less individual testing, as wastewater can reveal broad trends across wide areas, absent mass nose-swabbing campaigns.

Still, this uptick comes at a less-than-ideal time with regard to booster availability.

A newly updated booster is due out this fall. While it wasn't specifically designed with EG.5 in mind, it will likely offer at least some protection, experts told NBC News.

Those behind on their shots need to decide whether it makes sense to wait for the updated booster or beef up their protection now in the face of this uptick.

The bottom line: There's no sign we're headed for anything like the waves of the peak pandemic era. But it's still an alarming trend, and a reminder that COVID will remain a public health concern for the foreseeable future.

COVID hospitalizations spike in Tennessee

COVID-19

COVID-19 hospitalization rates across Tennessee rose 48% between June and July amid signs of a late summer wave sweeping the country.By the numbers: The average COVID-19 hospitalization rate nationwide rose about 17% between June and July, per the latest available Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Health

Data: U.S. Census; Note: Unadjusted estimate of privately owned units of any size; Chart: Axios Visuals

A post-pandemic housing shortage has been a top driver keeping prices high in Nashville and nationwide.

But a bump in new home construction in Nashville, which far exceeds national building rates, could ease prices and stabilize the market — it's basic supply and demand.

By the numbers: More than 108 new homebuilding permits per 100,000 residents were issued in the Nashville area this May, up from about 88 in May 2020 — the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the 2,132 total permits, 1,492 were issued for single-family homes and 629 were for those with five or more units.

That's per a new analysis of Census Bureau data from Axios' Kavya Beheraj and Alex Fitzpatrick.

The big picture: Recent estimates from Freddie Mac indicate the U.S. is short about 3.8 million housing units, either for rent or purchase, Axios' Emily Peck reports.

Zoom in: A modest inventory uptick in Nashville has already helped relieve some pressure on the historically hot housing market.

Inventory stood at 9,594 in the greater Nashville area last month, compared to 7,370 in June 2022, according to Greater Nashville Realtors.

The median price for a residential single-family home in the greater Nashville area was $474,900 last month compared to $495,070 in June 2022.

What they're saying: "For the qualified buyer, the stabilization of home prices in 2023 combined with increased inventory makes now the most buyer-friendly market we have seen in Middle Tennessee in several years," Brad Copeland, Greater Nashville Realtors president, said in a statement.

Reality check: Even though Nashville's inventory has improved compared to pandemic low points, it still lags behind the June 2019 total of 11,610.

State of play: While many newly built homes have targeted (and thus been priced for) relatively wealthier buyers, builders nationally are starting to focus on more affordable projects for first-time homebuyers, per Axios' Matt Phillips.

Yes, but: "There's little sign of a Levittown-style surge of modest-home construction to magically solve the inventory problem any time soon," Matt writes.

Plus, mortgage rates remain relatively high.

Nashville housing inventory improves

A bump in home construction in Nashville could ease prices.

Real estate

A post-pandemic housing shortage has been a top driver keeping prices high in Nashville and nationwide.<ul><li>But a bump in new home construction in Nashville, which far exceeds national building rates, could ease prices and stabilize the market — it&#x27;s basic supply and demand.</li></ul>

Real Estate

Development

Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration; Chart: Axios Visuals

The average Tennessee electricity customer experienced about five hours of power outages in 2021 — up from about 2.9 hours in 2013.

That's per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an agency within the Department of Energy.

Zoom in: Major weather events tend to drive up outage numbers. For example, average Tennessee customers experienced about 9.8 hours of outages in 2020.

A deadly series of tornadoes carved a path through the state in March of that year, followed by a derecho that brought destructive wind gusts in May.

Why it matters: Electricity outages stand to become more common as extreme weather events — many driven by climate change — wreak havoc on the country's aging power infrastructure.

While some are short-lived annoyances, others are widespread events. Either can become deadly for those who depend on medical equipment, or for those who lose heating or air conditioning during periods of extreme temperatures.

The big picture: The average U.S. electricity customer experienced 7.3 hours of power outages in 2021 — down from 8.2 in 2020, but more than double 2013's rate.

The nationwide average of outage hours has been trending upward over the last several years, beginning with a notable spike in 2017 driven in part by outages following Hurricane Irma. (The hurricane led to outages in parts of Tennessee.)

Power outages increase in Tennessee

Tennessee

The average Tennessee electricity customer experienced about five hours of power outages in 2021 — up from about 2.9 hours in 2013.<ul><li>That&#x27;s per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an agency within the Department of Energy.</li></ul>

Data: StreetLight Data; Note: Analysis includes traffic between 5-6pm on roadways within one mile of each venue. Vehicle hours of delay measured as time spent in congestion compared to free-flow travel time; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Taylor Swift may have wrapped the first U.S. leg of her Eras Tour last week, but data showing its impact on Nashville and other cities is still coming into focus.

For instance, it's becoming clear she put the "jam" in "traffic jam."

Zoom in: Traffic near Nissan Stadium increased significantly compared to normal levels in the hours ahead of Swift's trio of Nashville concerts in May, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.

That's based on a new StreetLight Data analysis examining the Eras Tour's impact on vehicle hours of delay — a measurement of how long cars spend in traffic compared to the time the same trip would take on open roads.

Why it matters: That's not meant to blame Swift for bad traffic — you'd probably see similar numbers for any big stadium event.

But it's a compelling illustration of traffic and transit issues in different cities.

By the numbers: Traffic delays within a mile of Nissan increased 157% on average ahead of Swift's shows.

The big picture: Nationally, traffic delays "more than doubled at seven out of nine stadiums during the Eras Tour concerts," per StreetLight's analysis of Swift's springtime shows.

Yes, but: Traffic delays near MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, actually decreased about 19% during Swift's late May shows there.

That's because local transit officials discouraged driving and boosted already robust public transit service for the concert.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour jammed Nashville traffic

Traffic near Nissan Stadium increased significantly.

Taylor Swift may have wrapped the first <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="U.S. leg of her Eras Tour" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/12/taylor-swift-economy-eras-tour" data-vars-content-id="ee23b1bf-c555-440e-93a5-d98d88116214" data-vars-headline="Taylor Swift&#x27;s Eras Tour jammed Nashville traffic" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/12/taylor-swift-economy-eras-tour" target="_self">U.S. leg of her Eras Tour</a> last week, but data showing its impact on Nashville and other cities is still coming into focus.<ul><li>For instance, it&#x27;s becoming clear she put the &quot;jam&quot; in &quot;traffic jam.&quot;</li></ul>

Kavya Beheraj

Featured stories

Walking trips have become less routine in Nashville

Power outages increase in Tennessee

COVID hospitalizations spike in Tennessee

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour jammed Nashville traffic

Nashville housing inventory improves