Our capacity in America to simply "move down the street" (or to the next subdivision) if we dislike our current neighborhood is limitless. Yet I have never heard complaints from anyone who lives or has lived in a community that is both safe and walkable -- that is, a neighborhood with wider than average sidewalks, clean and safe walking/bike trails, and accesible-by-foot-or-bike amenities, such as grocery stores, schools, restaurants and parks. How walkable is your locale? Plug in your address at http://www.walkscore.com/.
Our neighborhood here in west Alexandria, Virginia registered a measily 45 out of 100, while our previous address in uptown/downtown Denver, Colorado scored an 89.
I would probably dispute the low rating for our place in Alexandria: we live adjacent to a clean, safe bike/walking path with easy access points to a library, pharmacy, large park, weekly farmers market, grocery store, restaurants, a gas station, dry cleaners and other services all within a 10-20 minute walk or 5 minute bike ride down a tree-lined path.
Most people think downtowns when they think walkability. But making new suburban developments pedestrian-friendly is a trend gaining momentum, says Joel Kotkin in his latest essay, The Suburban Archipelago, which calls for a "smart sprawl" strategy in future suburban and exurban (and beyond) development.
BC
2 comments:
My current address in Tea = 48
Previous address results:
In Lincoln = 52, 62, 62, 37
In Aberdeen = 69, 85, 78
In Langford = 0
I could dispute some, if not all, of the scores, since their formula of finding walkable necessities for living (grocery stores, libraries, parks, etc.) isn't always 100% accurate.
Especially in Langford. A zero? Seriously? There's no grocery store or movie theatre, but they obviously didn't figure Mom's garden into the calculation, not to mention the endless possibilities for keeping oneself entertained right there on the farm!
Harrisburg - 26
Holbrook in SF - 32
Lincoln - 17 ??
Brookings - 62
Langford (the city of) - 14
Groton - 45
Note there is not a "church" category factor, but I can get to the bar 0.4 miles away.
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