Walkable Cities
I’m tempted to start my site’s section on walkability with some bombastic essay providing an emotional arc to the realization that maybe we should be able to walk places. That’s, frankly, not what I want to write, because it’s hard. It also already exists. Rather, I’ll just make this a list. I like lists.
Click things for more info and citations and whatnot, if I’ve set those up. If not, bug me about it until I set things up, and then continue to bug me about it until my sources are appropriately convincing. All of this is America-specific, though much of it applies to Canada or Australia or whatnot. This list is not comprehensive.
* Suburbs do not pay for themselves. When they are built, the city assumes more repair costs than the taxation revenue from the suburb actually collects. The catch - they only have to repair everything a few decades later, and until then, suburbs are essentially free money. This leads to short-term growth which sacrifices long-term sustainability.
* Walkable places are:
highly healthy places to live. Walkable cities promote health through their transport options, their social connections, and their reduced pollution (of all kinds; air, noise, even light).
highly economic places. Higher density means higher interaction, less costs per person, higher consistency across hours of the day, etc.
not just “big apartment buildings” - they have mixed use development and a smooth progression from low-density to high-density, rather than the sharp difference you often see in American towns.
* Most places have too many:
free parking spaces. It is often illegal to build places with the correct amount of parking. Parking costs society a ton of money.
lanes per road. Adding more lanes to a road or street does not actually reduce congestion long-term, as it also causes more people to drive.
highways. Adding a highway in the middle of a city is the single best way to harm the city financially.
stroads. Roads (travel from place to place) and streets (travel within a place, with businesses and whatnot) should be distinct. Roads that attempt to be streets are slowed down and made more dangerous, streets that attempt to be roads end up bloated and require too many parking lots to be profitable to the city.
* A good street is designed such that low speeds feel comfortable and high speeds feel dangerous. Most streets are not designed this way, and most manuals forbid it.
* Walkable places are also, necessarily, bikeable and wheelchairable and any number of other contraptions-able.
* Cars:
cost a lot and are a depreciating asset. Nevermind gas, the cost of the car and insurance and maintenance and such can easily reach above $1000/month, and that’s with free parking. Whereas (you would hope) most large income sinks like this contribute to one’s long-term finances, this is money that goes nowhere.
are actually better-off in walkable areas. That sounds silly, but it is actually more enjoyable to drive when there’s less congestion, closer amenities, better street/road distinction, and less people driving who don’t want to be.
are really loud!
don’t make you a bad person. Nobody is into this for moral superiority, and plenty of advocates for car-light cities are also frequent drivers.
* Minor driving violations being a crime leads to a decent amount of bad behavior from police officers trying to keep their city afloat financially.
* Housing:
is the single most important factor in building cross-generational wealth.
is the single most important factor in ending homelessness.
* You can help! It’s not hard.
Also! Look at this picture of bicycles. There are so many!
