Nashville, TN - is it pedestrian friendly? Mostly car-oriented? How is the layout? (Forest Hills: neighborhoods, buy)

[Tiger Beer]

Nashville, TN - is it pedestrian friendly? Mostly car-oriented? How is the layout?

Not that I wouldn't have a car, but it is nice to be able to walk around places without jumping in the car for nearly everything.

[aaronmidnight]

It all depends on your frame of reference.

Pedestrian-friendly compared to NYC? No. (Although you don't have to fight your way down the sidewalks either.)

Pedestrian-friendly compared to Los Angeles or Dallas? Definitely.

It also depends on the neighborhood. Downtown, Hillsboro Village, East Nashville all seem very pedestrian friendly to me. But pricey neighborhoods like Forest Hills and Belle Meade are definitely built for cars (no sidewalks).

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by aaronmidnight

It also depends on the neighborhood. Downtown, Hillsboro Village, East Nashville all seem very pedestrian friendly to me. But pricey neighborhoods like Forest Hills and Belle Meade are definitely built for cars (no sidewalks).

What are those neighborhoods like - i.e. Downtown, Hillsboro Village, East Nashville?

Is downtown dead at night...or a lot going on? Safe enough to walk around? I don't mind drunks bar-hopping, not to keen on sketch drug addicts on isolated empty streets though...how about in Nashville?

Also, how is Hillsboro Village & East Nashville...basically?

[skinem]

Aaronmidnight said it about right...some neighborhoods definitely more pedestrain friendly, but by and large it is a "car-oriented" city.

As far as layout goes, to me it looks like a wagon or bicycle wheel with all the spokes converging on downtown.

Downtown is usually busy at night, particularly the "stip" along Broadway and West End. You can walk around it at night, but like most cities, some places you might not want to, and maybe it's just me, but I always feel like you need to keep your eyes open. Along the tourist areas, you'll be safe enough, but Nashville has had a historic issue with pickpokets in those areas.

Hillsboro Village is kind of an eclectic mix of buildings, businesses, etc. Personally, I like it. I've heard some refer to it as "gentrified".

Others claim East Nashville is rough, others not. What I've seen seems to say it is in the process of being "gentrified".

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by skinem

Hillsboro Village is kind of an eclectic mix of buildings, businesses, etc. Personally, I like it. I've heard some refer to it as "gentrified".

Is it expensive? I'll have to look more into this area...

[Tiger Beer]

Just found information on Hillsboro Village...
About Hillsboro Village (http://www.hillsborovillage.com/aboutHV.htm - broken link)

HILLSBORO VILLAGE, commonly known as "The Village," is one of Nashville's few remaining collections of neighborhood merchants.

As one merchant says, "Customers can do their banking; have shoes repaired; fill a prescription; have hair cut or styled; buy jewelry, antiques, artwork, flowers, clothes, or gifts; have copies made; take in a movie or play; get a car repaired or fill it with gas; eat any and all meals; and get a passport. One can do all these things, and more, in buildings with real doors and real windows."

The Village offers a complete line of neighborhood services, retail stores, and entertainment. Speciality stores, some of the best retaurants in town and the historic Belcourt Theatre make Hillsboro Village a destination point for all Nashvillians.

Historic charm and personal attention make the Village a very special place. Bounded by active and successful neighborhoods, this area will remind you of days when everyone traded with neighbors in shops close to home.


"Even though the village changes, the people are still friendly... we're one big happy family." David Baldwin, Pancake Pantry

It's great that Nashville still has one area like this. It's a bit funny that most of the country has become so car-oriented, that one neighborhood survives it and becomes a tourist attraction for everyone in the city to drive to to visit!

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Is most of Nashville very suburban, car-centric...a focus on shopping malls and big stores with big parking lots? I mean, most cities are, but curious if there was a bit more than that.

So is Hillsboro Village...an area nearby to Vanderbuilt University...I tried to search on google maps, and it brought me to 'Hillsboro/Belmont'...it looks purely residential on google maps though...if that is the right area it took me too.

This also appears to be the same area?: Nashville 2 of 2: Neighborhoods - SkyscraperPage Forum

Looks like some great bookstores! Nontheless, is that the most 'neighborhoodish' area...and sounds like it caters mostly to Vanderbuilt students...is that about right?

[ThirdCoaster]

You'll need a car in Nashville. There are some areas like Hillsboro Village-that you can walk around but most of Nashville is like L.A.--you need a car to drive from point A to point B and there are few buses. In some areas, such as Bellevue, you will find it difficult to walk to places as there are long stretches between strip malls, etc., and the roads are wide with few stop lights so it's dangerous to cross-especially Highway 70.

[DonCorleone]

I agree with ThirdCoaster, it's not a very pedestrian friendly city. The immediate downtown area (1st to 8th avenues east to west, James Robertson to Gateway Bridge north to south) is basically a grid, a little hilly but very walkable. But once you get beyond the interstates that bisect downtown, it is more difficult to get around by foot. West End area is walkable, but very busy trafficwise and is a bit spread out. There are enclaves that are very pedestrian-friendly like Hillsboro Village, but by and large you are going to need a car to get around. Our bus system is nowhere near as good as other large cities whose citizens depend on buses to get around. I'm not sure if it's fair or not, but the few people I know who ride the buses regularly here complain about the service.

[Kansaichick]

For the most part, life is a lot easier if you have a car when you are in any southern city. That even applies to Florida and southern California The transportation networks in southern cities are nowhere close to the set up that folks in Boston, Chicago, D.C., Philadelphia, San Francisco, etc, enjoy.

[Shino306]

Hillsboro Village, Downtown Nashville, and East Nashville are probably the most pedestrian friendly. It's possible to walk (albeit a longish walk) from Hillsboro Village to downtown and then into East Nashville.
I'd say Hillsboro Village abutts neighborhoods but the actual "Village" area doesn't seem that residential to me. There are lots of restaurants, stores, etc in the area and although the college students do go there, they don't cater exclusively to students.
Per a comment you made in one of your posts, I also wouldn't call Hillsboro Village a "tourist attraction." I could be wrong, but I don't think average person living out in the burbs drives to Hillsboro Village to "hang out." I think Hillsboro Village is more used by the people living in the area or pretty close by.
Nashville on the whole is mostly car-oriented, especially the farther out from downtown you get. As others have said, we don't have the public transportation systems that the Northeast or some cities on the West Coast have.