Walkable city

Here is a re-post from 2014, "Walkable City." Why the re-post? Because my niece and I spent some time in Paris last week, and "walkable" really describes it. More tomorrow.

Walkable city

There's a term for it according to city planner Jeff Speck's book, Walkable City. If pedestrians are comfortable walking from place to place, if they feel safe and interested in what they see, if they are intrigued and engaged by the street life, the city has walkability.

American cities, according to Speck, are designed for cars. Wide traffic lanes, fast-moving traffic, huge parking lots, clearing of obstacles including trees, all inhibit pedestrians' sense of comfort. These features get cars into and out of cities efficiently, but they discourage walking.

Picture a boring and unpleasant street scene, then imagine how it could be made beautiful and appealing (click on the picture below). That's what this organizationdoes:

photo: walklive.org

Walkable city-scapes are high in real estate value. Millenials (~age 20-32) expect to live in an urban core, or at least 77% of them do. They - and the empty nest boomer generation too - will pick an urban neighborhood that makes city living safe, friendly, interesting. Go to walkscore.com to get an idea of the walkability of any address.

(cont'd tomorrow)