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Small lawns might be ok, but once you have big enough lawns, everything's too spread out to be able to as many things. Or have enough people in walking distance of a subway stop.
Best compromise, in my opinion, is if houses landscape the small front (so the street has attractive greenery) maybe with a very small backyard and there are frequently small public parks.
"Get thee away from me, JohnBarleyCorn McMansion"!!
But you still have to give me those patches of green to walk on , and stare at..
Location: Plum Borough, east suburb of Pittsburgh, PA
144 posts, read 224,568 times
Reputation: 130
Quote:
Originally Posted by ogre
Creeksitter, you call attention to something worth noting when you point out that your home in the fairly near suburbs was closer to commercial activity than you were in the first time in the city. This can be true in many areas, depending on the suburb, and on where you are located in the city.
You can't always go by city limits, either, in telling about the character of a place. For example, even in an old, dense city like Boston there are small areas with a suburban look, most notably in the West Roxbury section. Occasionally on the MA board someone will point out to a person planning on moving to the Boston area and wanting some urban atmosphere that the future transplant should not dismiss such small cities close to Boston as Somerville and Cambridge, since many or most of their neighborhoods are more urban than West Roxbury, which lies within Boston's city limits.
Oh so true! I stayed at the Chamounix Mansion in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The place had next to no through traffic, and a horse stable next to it! If I had not known that I was in Philly city limits, I could have sworn that I was in a rural area.
Pittsburgh has examples similar to what you're describing in Boston: Dormont (outside city limits) has density which rivals places like Bloomfield and Lawrenceville, is extremely walkable. Hell, I'd almost call the commercial district (which has the Hollywood Theater) claustrophobic because it seems to cover up the sun. On the other side of the coin, I drove through Banksville Rd (inside city limits) and it reminded me more of what a lot of people call suburban.
I somewhat familar with Louisville and am not sure about, "mass transit within a mile."
Great, walkable small town with many downtown restaurants, including 3 brewpuds (to open soon).
The RTD Bus on Highway 36 is only within a mile of maybe 10% of the Louisville homes.
And that 10% is more than a mile to downtown Louisville. Seems you can be within a mile of the bus OR within a mile of the small town center, but not both.
Are you kidding me? There is an RTD stop 1/4 mile from my house, by the Mormon church. My daughter took the RTD home from middle school for three years! Here are the schedules of the buses serving Louisville.
I tend to agree; I suspect that the "mass transit" aspect is pretty minimal..(Regarding Louisville)
I was thinking more in terms of a subway line/commuter rail, so perhaps a streetcar suburb would be more appropriate, especially in an older Northeastern/Midwestern city. My current residence in Cambridge, MA is urban, but my neighborhood feels more like a go-between of urban and suburban, i.e. streetcar suburb. I can walk to a subway line in about 10 minutes, and to grocery stores/pharmacies in about 10 minutes, and a hospital in 5 minutes.
Now, if you add in all these factors, along with small-to-mid-sized lawns and tree-lined streets, and you have the PERFECT neighborhood.
See above, pal. Just how much more should there be? Oh, there's also Call and Ride, which can take you to the Park and Ride, and other places in town the regular routes don't go.
I would appreciate my veracity not being questioned, thank you very much. I always check sources and do not post about stuff I don't know anything about, nor do I fabricate. Your buddy did all those calculations and he's wrong! There is inter-city bus service in Louisville.
Location: Plum Borough, east suburb of Pittsburgh, PA
144 posts, read 224,568 times
Reputation: 130
Quote:
Originally Posted by KC2DC
Walkability to retail shops, restaurants, movies, etc. is the number one priority. Nothing worse than having to get in your car for any and all errands. Maddening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MassVt
Give me a suburb with mass transit within a mile, along with a good grocery store and sidewalks, and I'd be there for life..
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The suburb would need to have some pedestrian friendliness/walkability, and some variation in density levels, including with medium density and some good architecture.
I can definitely get on board with these sentiments. Driving can be fun at times, but cars eventually wear out, and they use up fuel. If you're having to use your car for everyday stuff, that leaves less money and miles for stuff you want to use it for. Those 500 miles I drove in 2-4 weeks? They could've been used for a New York City trip or something.
I don't necessarily mind having a bit of a hike (1.5 miles absolute max) to a bus line or railway, but here's the thing: it has to be a safe walk to there, meaning there needs to be enough sidewalk and/or grass for me so I'm not walking near cars. Hell, if I lived in a further out neighborhood that still had half-decent access to mass transit, I'd be saving dinero big time, by using my car less (if not outright selling it?) and being in a cheaper location (the further you go, it seems, the more affordable housing becomes).
Something tells me that, barring some unforeseen turnaround in fuel prices or a major innovation in automotive technology, more people will try to drive more and walk less as a way to ultimately save money. I've even heard about school districts having to go to 4 days a week to save on busing and utility costs.
Quote:
It needs some good urban amenities with local independent stores and a lack of chain stores such as for coffee shops/espresso bars, restaurants, etc.
I really respect places that form their own identity, whether they're urban, suburban, exurban, rural, whatever. Don't try to be a knockoff of other places and forge your own identity! Good examples of this around Pittsburgh are Bloomfield, Squirrel Hill, and the South Side. They don't have too much in common, which is great. Just because you're a new greenfield development doesn't mean you have to act like you came from a Henry Ford assembly line. Don't get me wrong, I've eaten and shopped at many chains in my day, and I still plan to use them if they have good stuff. But like I said, don't become exclusively chain based! Homogenization of culture is something that is harrowing to me...
Location: Plum Borough, east suburb of Pittsburgh, PA
144 posts, read 224,568 times
Reputation: 130
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana
Those are all city neighborhoods.
My bad, I should've used the word within instead of around. But even some neighborhoods outside of the city come with their own distinct flavor, such as Millvale.
See this post for some pictures of Harvey Park. It's a real McMansionville all right, with its small houses with detached garages, carports and a few larger houses thrown in.
One deal killer for me moving from the city to a suburb would be if a trip to the city took two buses for each leg of the trip. Mass transit works for me IF its close and direct on both ends.
Nothing would make me move back to the Suburbs. Lived in Tennessee for a bit but that would be definitely be classified as rural. Lived in suburb outside of Chicago and I didn't like it at all. I could still walk to a downtown area with some highrises so I thought it would feel somewhat familiar. NOPE... Back to the City for me. There is just such an intrinsic difference that if you love one you most likely won't enjoy the other. But that's what makes it all good. There is something for everyone. I don't really care if someone chooses to live in the sterile burbs...
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