Walk-able Communities as a Solution to Suburban Sprawl
In the news, as high gas prices and far-reaching suburbs are costing its residents more to drive from point to point, many people are taking inventory on the places they live, looking for close-to-home solutions that make shopping, working, and living more proximal. There are health, environmental, and social nuances of walk-able communities that are distinctly different than its counterpart of suburban sprawl.
As both urban and suburban leaders seek solutions to creating more walk-able communities, everything from richer mass transit to increased neighborhood commerce is being considered to meet its residents’ basic needs. Whole universities are cropping up with formal disciplines in New Urbanism as new ideas (which are actually quite traditional) are implemented and movements such as the Congress for the New Urbanism are widely embraced by civic decision-makers.
Some of the characteristics of walk-able communities include:
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town centers – a quiet, pleasant main street with a set of hearty, healthy stores
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areas designed for people first, cars second
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neighborhoods with mixed income and mixed-use housing
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safe, adequate and appealing public space for people to gather and to sit
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easy access for people of all ages and abilities
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main streets that are speed-controlled and interconnected, or laid out in a grid
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many people walking
A few online links that with recent news and advocacy here:
- USA Today, 7/29/08__”Gas prices drive push to reinvent America’s suburbs” http://m.usatoday.com/detail.jsp?key=876570&rc=na_ne&p=1
- CNN 6/16/08_”Is America’s suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare?”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/16/suburb.city/index.html - “Walkable Communities/New Urbanism” Washington State magazine Feb. 2008 (institution)
http://wsm.wsu.edu/stories/2008/February/newurbanism.html - Understanding Walk-able Communities (blog)
http://www.walkable.org/article1.htm - Washington State’s Futurewise (social concern) http://futurewise.org/
