Comments on The Green Phone Booth: These Cities Weren't Made for Walking

You're right, Erin. Cities (and most American ...

2009-11-12T07:11:35.841-08:00

You're right, Erin. Cities (and most American systems) happen haphazardly, beginning with cheap land and the developers' interests. Utilities--roads, sewer systems, schools--occur after development of homes. Of course they should be all planned out in advance, but they're not. Cities grow organically. I completely agree with you, but it is reassuring to note that when our preferences change collectively (to farmers markets, mass transit, etc.), that will influence developers to change accordingly. The question then becomes, how do you re-do the city planning that has already occurred? How do you take sustainable design and apply it not to new smart-growth developments, but to old cities and rural cities? It fascinates me.

You're making a heroic effort to change that, ...

2009-11-11T23:08:04.983-08:00

You're making a heroic effort to change that, though.

We'll only get usable design by using it the way we want and letting city planners follow along behind with infill or transit or whatever.

I am endlessly frustrated with designs that city planners claim are good for bikers & pedestrians that just AREN'T. Tonight I was biking along a big main street about 2 miles from my house mentally damning the "traffic-slowing" bumpouts at corners - studies may show they slow traffic, but not enough to make a 4-lane street safe for pedestrians to cross easily, and they are awful for biking.

@ruiaf - We definitely chose our house because of ...

2009-11-11T15:37:06.657-08:00

@ruiaf - We definitely chose our house because of the close proximity to work and school, but the school is just a little too far for little legs and unfortunately we are not on a school bus route. I think the walking will get easier as the kiddos get bigger.

@4 Bushel Farmgal - So true. The meeting I went to was actually an advocacy group for improved public transportation, and I spent the whole meeting feeling frustrated with the slow pace of government.

@Green Bean - and it's not just transportation. So many of the things I do in the name of living green are more time consuming, and until certain aspects of our culture changes, I sometimes wonder how most people would fit those changes into their lives.

@utahlawyer - Exactly! Europeans make it seem so easy, but their cities have been designed completely differently.

While I was in college, I spent a summer living in...

2009-11-11T13:54:54.636-08:00

While I was in college, I spent a summer living in Germany. Over there, cities are designed around walking, biking, and public transit. From the apartment I lived in, I could go anywhere in Europe using mass transit. Also, I had everything I needed within easy walking distance. There were two grocery stores, a bakery, a bank, and a florist within a block. Downtown (and main shopping district) area was about two miles away. I could easily get there on wide city sidewalks or on nature trails going through green space within the city. I could also access downtown by bus. The buses came about every ten minutes and were always on time. While I lived there, I wouldn't dream of driving anywhere (even if I had a car) because it was less convenient then walking or taking a bus.

The contrast between European cities and American ones is striking. Where I live here, the closest grocery store is about a mile and a half away. I don't walk there because the road between home and the store has no sidewalks, blind curves, and a 50 mph speed limit. Also there is no bus that comes within walking distance of my home. Unfortunately, walking or riding the bus are not realistic options for me because of the way my city is designed.

One of the reasons we're still living on a muc...

2009-11-11T07:47:37.779-08:00

One of the reasons we're still living on a much smaller lot - even though I yearn for more space for the garden/chickens - is because it is walking distance to downtown. And I do walk to downtown often but, as you point out, people have to be in a position to have the time to do it. I'd love to see better public transit. Even in our small town, we used to have a shuttle that took people down town and back to key neighborhood drops. Unfortunately, it was one of the first things to go due to budget cuts a few years back.

I know exactly what you're talking about, and ...

2009-11-11T04:20:27.511-08:00

I know exactly what you're talking about, and truely feel for you!

Most towns/cities were designed for cars. In this economy, they cannot put money into improving road design or expanding mass transit, and very few of us can look for a different job, or sell our houses to move closer to work.

I moved to a city thinking that it would be easy to leave my car in the driveway, but it's not so. The roads here are not made for bikes or walkers - very dangerous. And the bus that stops near my house would drop me 5 miles from work. I can't make any changes now, but I'll be looking at transportation/accessability in a future move.

Indeed. My solution was going to live in a smaller...

2009-11-11T03:40:59.261-08:00

Indeed. My solution was going to live in a smaller city where I can bike to work. It's one of the most important quality of living aspects, the time you take to get to work, entertainment, etc. It's possible to optimise it without changing town. What were you criteria in choosing a place to live?