what does "walkability" mean to you? (in NOVA-DC region) (Leesburg: neighborhood, movies)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I really can't talk about what it's like to walk to work in Falls Church, for example, since I've never done it.
except of course that you did talk about, till you were corrected in detail. Like walkability, an example of something that "can't" be done, but is done.
Last edited by brooklynborndad; 04-16-2012 at 11:37 AM..
except of course that some of the places that are most "urbane" are in fact ....
FYI, "urbane" doesn't mean "urban"; it means "polished" in manners. (Whether urban or rural folks are more urbane would be a matter of vociferous debate, no doubt!)
Hipsters = people in skinny jeans and thick-framed glasses.
FYI, "urbane" doesn't mean "urban"; it means "polished" in manners. (Whether urban or rural folks are more urbane would be a matter of vociferous debate, no doubt!)
Don't hate me; it's a compulsion!
true, mea culpa, but "urbanity" which JEB suggested, is normally a noun related to "urbane" not "urban"
true, mea culpa, but "urbanity" which JEB suggested, is normally a noun related to "urbane" not "urban"
Actually, "urbanity" is the the noun form of "urban." From Wikipedia: "Urbanity refers to the characteristics, personality traits, and viewpoints associated with cities and urban areas."
you should read the intro to a good dictionary sometime. It will tell you that they are recording actual usage, not prescribing it. ....
Wow, BBD--play that back in your head. Sound maybe just a little arrogant?
It's also not correct. Here's something on the topic, from an author (and longtime NYC resident) you might have heard of:
" Of course, one dictionary is as good as another to most people, who use them for spellers and bet-settlers and accessories to crossword puzzles and Scrabble games. But some people use them for more than that, or mean to. This was brought home to me only the other evening, whilst I was supping with the novelist and short-story writer, Richard Yates, and Prof. Robert Scholes, the famous praiser of John Barth's 'Giles Goat-Boy.'
Yates asked Scholes, anxiously it seemed to me, which unabridged dictionary he should buy. He had just received a gorgeous grant for creative writing from the Federal Gumment, and the first thing he was going to buy was his entire language between hard covers. He was afraid that he might get a clunker--a word, by the way, not in this Random House job.
Scholes replied judiciously that Yates should get the second edition of the 'Merriam- Webster,' which was prescriptive rather than descriptive. Prescriptive, as nearly as I could tell, was like an honest cop, and descriptive was like a boozed-up war buddy from Mobile, Ala. Yates said he would get the tough one; but, my goodness, he doesn't need official instructions in English any more than he needs training wheels on his bicycle. As Scholes said later, Yates is the sort of man lexicographers read in order to discover what pretty new things the language is up to.
To find out in a rush whether a dictionary is prescriptive or descriptive, you look up ain't and like. I learned this trick of horseback logomachy from reviews of the "Merriam-Webster" third edition. And here is the rundown on ain't: the 'Merriam-Webster' first edition says that it is colloquial or illiterate, the second says it is dialect or illiterate, and the third says that ain't is, 'though disapproved by many and more common in less educated speech, used orally. . .by many cultivated speakers esp. in the phrase ain't I.' I submit that this nation is so uniformly populated by parvenus with the heebie-jeebies that the phrase ain't I is heard about as frequently as the mating cry of the heath hen."
Last edited by Carlingtonian; 04-16-2012 at 12:09 PM..
I generally look at Wikipedia as a resource, not a dictionary. However, Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines "urbanity" as "the quality or state of being urbane," while the term "urbane" is defined as "notably polite or finished in manner." In short, I think Carlingtonian understood what I intended to convey, while BBD either did not understand, or chose to challenge, my statement.
My point was that, because NoVa is not exactly full of polished, finished areas, many in the region may have a somewhat more expansive view of what counts as "walkable" than those posters who emphasize the significance of uninterrupted sidewalks and visual eye candy as far as the eye can see, even if they may not define the term as broadly in their own minds as Caladium has suggested we should be open to doing.
My point was that, because NoVa is not exactly full of polished, finished areas ...
Have you seen the marble countertops in the bazillion luxury condos that line the R-B corridor?
Quote:
Originally Posted by JEB77
... many in the region may have a somewhat more expansive view of what counts as "walkable" than those posters who emphasize the significance of uninterrupted sidewalks and visual eye candy as far as the eye can see, even if they may not define the term as broadly in their own minds as Caladium has suggested we should be open to doing.
Exactly. The question was "What does walkability mean to you?" Obviously, the word in this instance was meant subjectively, or the question would not be there. To Caladium and perhaps others, it means "If I can walk there without getting killed." To others, it means "If it's a pleasant walk with an interesting streetscape." (Gawd, I can't believe I used a hipster word like streetscape! Soon I'll be wearing trucker hats.) To BBD, it means "If there are are people doing macrame and yoga on the sidewalk, there is at least one independent coffee shop per block, the ratio of skinny jeans to Wranglers is at least 100:1, and the cars on the adjoining streets are not moving faster than 5 mph. (BBD, I'm just ribbing you a little.)
Obviously, what's literally able to be traversed on foot stretches the definition a lot. I mean, you see crazy people walking the shoulder of the interstate from time to time. Then there are people who would never think of walking on a sidewalk that comes within 50 feet of (gasp) a parking lot. Different strokes.
Last edited by Carlingtonian; 04-16-2012 at 12:27 PM..
To find out in a rush whether a dictionary is prescriptive or descriptive, you look up ain't and like. I learned this trick of horseback logomachy from reviews of the "Merriam-Webster" third edition. And here is the rundown on ain't: the 'Merriam-Webster' first edition says that it is colloquial or illiterate, the second says it is dialect or illiterate, and the third says that ain't is, 'though disapproved by many and more common in less educated speech, used orally. . .by many cultivated speakers esp. in the phrase ain't I.'
well if we are discussing dictionaries that were attacked for descriptivism by someone who died over 40 years ago, well. Tis true. I started reading dictionary intros around the time Mr Cerf died, and even then they stood for descriptivism. I suppose before that some purported to be prescriptivist - from what I recall the response in the new dictionaries was if you want a usage book, buy one. And Im pretty sure some of the words that the older prescriptivists considered standard, had origins that were far from standard, but changed with USAGE.
Heres a quote on language I prefer
Its originally in Yiddish
"a shprakh iz a dialekt mit an armey un flot"
A language is a dialect with an army and a navy - Max Weinreich
My point was that, because NoVa is not exactly full of polished, finished areas, many in the region may have a somewhat more expansive view of what counts as "walkable" than those posters who emphasize the significance of uninterrupted sidewalks and visual eye candy as far as the eye can see, even if they may not define the term as broadly in their own minds as Caladium has suggested we should be open to doing.
really? You think that when I tell someone that Annandale is particularly walkable I'm misleading them?
I would suggest that if we were to sum up the areas with at least uninterrupted sidewalks, and with strong access to via those to a widespread number of destinations (lets leave aside the eye candy), we would include most of Arlington, Alex, CIty of FC, City of FFX, Reston, Kingstowne, and yes, much of Loudoun. As a percent not of the area of the region, but of the population and housing stock, its significant. Is it a majority? No Im pretty sure its not. Is it as much as there is demand for? I also think not, and I think thats in fact a point thats often made.
Certainly from what I understand FFX county is looking to increase the percentage of areas with complete sidewalks - at least the commercial areas and arterials and I think all new residential areas. That suggests to me that at least the county govt does not view streets without sidewalks as walkable.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
