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In all fairness, the OP does bring to light many issues that are present with a lot of new urban "walkable" developments, especially in the South. Namely that these developments only grasp walkability in the superficial sense, while failing to account for the street-level details behind the appeal of walkable cities around the world.
I agree with this.
My home is in a "walkable" community. It's very nice, and I enjoy the ability to go for long walks in the tranquil, leafy neighborhood and surrounding country setting, but it's certainly not walkable to anything practical that adults need access to. I still have to drive to the grocery store or anything else.
Not quite the same as walkability in NYC, downtown Chicago, or Centercity, Philadelphia.
I live in Toronto. Two blocks from my house is one of the main streets in the west side of the city. Its got many retail stores, cafes, social clubs, medical clinics, and just about everything that we need, all in a safe and clean neighborhood. With 24 hour street car and bus service, at least 5 city parks and recreation centers and a swimming pool and outdoor hockey rink and 3 soccer fields. Our Grand Daughter walks the 3 miles to her middle school , along that main street.
Our street is made up of single detached 2 story brick homes, most of which were built 100 years ago. Ours was built in 1907, by my Grand Father. Our family has owned it ever since. The street has a designated city bike lane, and its well used by the residents, and bike commuters, every day. To my knowledge there are no rental houses on the street, its all owner occupied.
Toronto calls it's self.. a city of 145 neighborhoods . Ours is called Via Italia, because of the large percentage of people who have Italian ancestry . Of course we also have neighbors who come from Russia, Portugal, Jamaica, France, Germany, Britain, Honduras, South Africa, China and India. And that is just in one block of our street
Yep, we are a real polyglot bunch around here. What do we all have in common ? . We walk around the area, and talk to each other. We live together. We are a community.
Well, you're very fortunate. But inheriting a comfortable home that's been in one's family for over a 100 years -- in a safe, lively downtown community, no less -- isn't the experience of most people.
It's great to have what you do (without the winters), but affordability is a major factor for those of us without significant inheritances. I'm sure you understand this. I lived within an hour of you until 22 years ago, but even though there are 4 graduate degrees between my ex-husband and me, we could have only hoped to live in "single, detached 2-story brick home" in a great community in the heart of Toronto.
Well, you're very fortunate. But inheriting a comfortable home that's been in one's family for over a 100 years -- in a safe, lively downtown community, no less -- isn't the experience of most people.
It's great to have what you do (without the winters), but affordability is a major factor for those of us without significant inheritances. I'm sure you understand this. I lived within an hour of you until 22 years ago, but even though there are 4 graduate degrees between my ex-husband and me, we could have only hoped to live in "single, detached 2-story brick home" in a great community in the heart of Toronto.
My wife and I live in western Oregon in a small town of about 3000 people. There is a major highway that bisects the town. Crossing it can be a challenge. Other then that, walking the city streets is a snap and part of the city is on a hill which makes walking a bit more of a challenge
About a year ago we bought Fitbits. This device counts steps and can be calibrated to individual stride length. It also tracks elevation change in floors. Mine is set to "reward" me when I get 11,000 steps equal to about 5.5 miles. The reward is that it buzzes and the display shows fireworks and confetti. It's pretty hokey but it's got me addicted. Another thing we started doing some time ago is carry a small plastic bag and a picker to collect trash. It's amazing how much trash is around and we almost always get a bag full. We give ourselves points for certain things like open drink containers, and clothes. Amazingly we seem to get points every time we walk. When we get 500 points we get a treat.
Since we started walking every day, I've lost about 10 lbs.
I certainly don't mean it to be unkind. I'm just stating facts. CanadianCitizen is, obviously, Canadian. He knows how to be very straightforward in his posts, as well.
Housing throughout Toronto (indeed, throughout most major Canadian cities) is VERY expensive, and downtown Toronto, which is a highly desirable area for people in the region, is especially cost prohibitive. Houses typically sell for thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars, over asking price. And that's in a city where the average price for a home is over $800k.
My point is, living in a truly walkable, liveable community is what many people want, which is why those areas are cost prohibitive for many people.
Last edited by newdixiegirl; 01-01-2020 at 02:11 PM..
Because you live in Houston, thats why you dont understand.
This doesn't actually matter, based on the context of OP's post. There's clear enough understanding of urban life and its qualities to question both the results being observed, as well as the efficacy of certain design choices (like the huge parking garages mentioned).
The thread simply doesn't have an appropriate title.
This doesn't actually matter, based on the context of OP's post. There's clear enough understanding of urban life and its qualities to question both the results being observed, as well as the efficacy of certain design choices (like the huge parking garages mentioned).
The thread simply doesn't have an appropriate title.
An appropriate title could be "Why are parts of Houston thought of as "walkable" when they really are not?"
Probably the lack of walkable options, and lack of exposure to what a truly walkable area is, leads to that assumption.
If a place is walkable, then people will naturally be walking there already.
An appropriate title could be "Why are parts of Houston thought of as "walkable" when they really are not?"
Probably the lack of walkable options, and lack of exposure to what a truly walkable area is, leads to that assumption.
If a place is walkable, then people will naturally be walking there already.
Chicago proper is actually in a much worse place. It's a medium-density city, where it's too sprawled out for walking but congested (at least in the North side) for driving safely. Parallel parking is very dangerous, not just from misjudging the size of the space when parking, but actually merging on to oncoming traffic when leaving.
D.C. is awful as a tourist. The sprawly city with its wide avenues was definitely built for carriages. Hard to walk in because the Metro stops are far from the popular destinations that they supposedly serve and the buses are not tourist-friendly. Can't park either because of security concerns, and lack of space or exorbitant prices if parking is available.
Manhattan is the epitome of walkability for the U.S. The Chicago Loop and Near North Side (River North and the Magnificent Mile area) come in second. S.F. Financial District and Union Square (actually the entire city-county) comes in third. These are the only 3 pedestrian-friendly cities that are accessible by suburbanites on commuter rail.
Surprisingly Coastal L.A. is not that walkable despite the room temperature climate in the summer. Still as car dependent as the rest of the state, so weather does not always play into the factor of walkability.
Manhattan is the epitome of walkability for the U.S. The Chicago Loop and Near North Side (River North and the Magnificent Mile area) come in second. S.F. Financial District and Union Square (actually the entire city-county) comes in third. These are the only 3 pedestrian-friendly cities that are accessible by suburbanites on commuter rail.
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Philadelphia? Boston?
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