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I was focusing more outside the city. But what in particular would be different about Denver? I thought you mentioned stores weren't that close to residences.
Strip malls set back from the street, big box store blocks, and similar. Often hideous and just an annoying setup to walk around in.
I meant the whole metro area.
I don't recall that I ever said that, because it's not true. If you recall from your foray to the Denver forum, Denver is one of the densest cities in the US outside of California. Lots are small here. Most people, my guess is at least 75-80% or more, live within 1-2 miles of a grocery store, which is usually in a strip mall of some sort with a liquor store (next door to almost every grocery, d/t CO's weird liquor laws); sometimes a drug store (Walgreen's, etc) although most groceries have a pharmacy, too; nail salon; small indy restaurants; beauty shops; laundromats; other small businesses.
What we need isn't urban development, we can have single family neighborhoods that are upwards of 20,000 ppsm if we don't take 50 yards to put in a road and a fancy sidewalks. It isn't necessarily our buildings but how we place them. So much wasted space.
What we need isn't urban development, we can have single family neighborhoods that are upwards of 20,000 ppsm if we don't take 50 yards to put in a road and a fancy sidewalks. It isn't necessarily our buildings but how we place them. So much wasted space.
OK, nei will probably shoot me for this, but are we going back to "don't need no stinkin' roads" again on this forum? What's wrong with sidewalks, too?
What we need isn't urban development, we can have single family neighborhoods that are upwards of 20,000 ppsm if we don't take 50 yards to put in a road and a fancy sidewalks. It isn't necessarily our buildings but how we place them. So much wasted space.
A big part of it is lots of land given to yards as well. Very inefficient. One example for modern, dense, fairly walkable suburbia with single family houses is Irvine, California. Lots of new developments look like this--no roads, parks instead of yards, walkable grid, walkable shopping centers:
OK, nei will probably shoot me for this, but are we going back to "don't need no stinkin' roads" again on this forum? What's wrong with sidewalks, too?
I think he was referring to road width. Most residential streets are much wider than needed , IMO (and yes more than needed for emergency vehicles)
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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One of the greatest social costs is that owning a car is required to work even for minimum wage. People who are too poor to buy a car or have a health condition that prevents them from being able to drive are literally second class citizens.
A terrific read. Best written expression of mostly familiar criticisms that I've yet seen. My only criticism of his criticism would be that a couple of these are possibly somewhat Atlanta-centric and not necessarily applicable to the majority of suburban areas. Most hold, though
I live downtown Fort Lauderdale and can't imagine moving to the suburbs.
We moved downtown with two cars and within a year sold my car. We walk everywhere.
I think last year we only put 3000 miles on our car.
We know everyone, the shopkeepers, bartenders, neighbors, their pets, even the homeless by name.
I can't imagine a situation where I'd have to move.
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