Tag: Walkability

Visitors at the Chattanooga, TN farmers’ market. Chattanooga is one of the smaller cities seeing a rise in walkable urban neighborhoods. Photo by Flickr user Larry Miller.

Chrisopher Leinberger, President of LOCUS and coauthor of the new report “Walk this Way:The Economic Promise of Walkable Places in Metropolitan Washington, D.C.” sat down with NPR’s Marketplace‘s David Brancaccio and Stacey Vanek Smith earlier today to talk about the report’s findings and the rising popularity of walkable neighborhoods. Listen to the audio or read a full transcript after the jump.

Washington, DC’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood was one of those included in a new study from the Brookings Institution. Photo by Flickr user Dewita Soeharjono.

The most valuable real estate today is in walkable urban locations – and that’s a stark change from only a decade ago.

That is one of the principal findings of a new report from the Brookings Institution. Walk this Way:The Economic Promise of Walkable Places in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. is an economic analysis of the neighborhoods in and surrounding our nation’s capital.

“Emerging evidence points to a preference for mixed-use, compact, amenity-rich, transit-accessible neighborhoods or walkable places,” the report explains, noting that consumer preferences have shifted and that demand for walkable housing is outpacing supply, thus contributing to higher property values.

The future of cities? An unusual way of untangling gridlock
MSNBC, December 2, 2011
Janette Sadik-Khan is on a mission to tame New York’s mean streets. As transportation commissioner for New York City, she’s closed off half of Times Square to traffic and converted 260 miles of city streets into bike lanes. Her goal is to reduce the city’s carbon footprint and manage New York’s notorious traffic, while possibly creating a blueprint for other cities around the world.

Mayor’s goal: Bring 10,000 new families to city in a decade
Baltimore Sun, December 5, 2011
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake hopes to attract 10,000 families to Baltimore in the next decade — which would reverse more than a half-century of population decline — and would like to serve at least one more term beyond the one she begins Tuesday…”If Baltimore is to have a future, the leadership in the city has to focus on making the city a vibrant, growing city,” Rawlings-Blake said in an interview Monday. “If you’re not focused on growing it, you’re resigned to a slow death.”

Riverfront trail is a window to KC’s past
Kansas City Star, December 5, 2011
Kansas City’s Riverfront Heritage Trail has given residents their best chance to practically touch the Missouri River’s edge, at Berkley Park and other downtown destinations. Now, in its latest phases in the West Bottoms, the trail is providing residents with other powerful connections to the city’s history and heritage.

The Best Smart Growth Projects in America
The Atlantic, December 1, 2011
One of the country’s very best revitalizing neighborhoods and one of our most articulate city plans for a more sustainable future are among this year’s five national honorees for achievement in smart growth, awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency. The other very worthy winners include a green learning center in a small South Dakota town, a green, affordable apartment building in New Mexico and an innovative civic gathering space in Illinois.

More Broken Bridges than Golden Arches: U.S. Urban Infrastructure Infographic
Sacramento Bee, December 1, 2011
“There are more deficient bridges in our metropolitan areas than there are McDonald’s restaurants in the entire country,” stated James Corless, Director of Transportation for America.

‘Walkable’ Steps Into Spotlight
New York Times, December 1, 2011
Walkability is an asset of an increasing number of Island communities as the fabric of suburbia changes, and it was a must for Judy Rosenthal, a health care writer from Great Neck, when she recently sought a new home for her mother not far from her own.

Advocates Say Housing Policy Discourages Mixed-Use Development
Governing Magazine, October 27, 2011
Ask members of Generation Y where they want to live, and chances are you’ll hear a common answer: urban environments where there is plenty to do within walking distance. For younger people (and many other Americans, for that matter), the cul-de-sac is no longer key.

Economy Alters How Americans Are Moving
New York Times, October 27, 2011
“When times get really hard it gets really hard for people to up and move,” said Kenneth M. Johnson, the senior demographer at the Carsey Institute, who conducted the analysis…Mr. Johnson said that the same phenomenon could be seen within states, as the growth began to slow in once rapidly growing suburbs, and shrinking cities like Los Angeles and Chicago began to stabilize.

The Design of Cities, Intelligent or Otherwise
New York Times, October 27, 2011
Those of us who live in cities — more than half the world’s population, according to many recent estimates — experience them mainly at eye and street level. Each urban environment has its own character and can therefore seem more like the result of natural processes than of complex human intentions. A city develops organically, through the complex interplay of economics, biology and countless local, individual decisions, but also by means of planning on the part of architects, engineers and politicians.

Pasco official says city reaps benefits from smart growth
Tri-City Herald (Wash.), October 1, 2011
Properly managed growth can increase benefits and reduce some of the drawbacks, Pasco City Manager Gary Crutchfield told about 50 people Friday at the Columbia Basin Badger Forum at the Pasco Red Lion.

Group promotes ‘walkability’ around Kennett Square
The Daily Local News (Pa.), October 3, 2011
Activate Chester County, a local community health initiative, is planning to petition three southern Chester County municipalities to expand the area’s “walkability.”

Has the Renaissance of Downtowns Been Overhyped?
The Atlantic Cities, September 30, 2011
The relative resiliency of many downtowns in face of these problems encouraged some in the national media to announce an unprecedented shift back into central business districts following decades of the suburbanization of employment. After losing a significant share of the market to suburban office parks, could downtowns finally be hitting their stride?

Transportation bill falls short of repairing our infrastructure
Orlando Sentinel (Fla.), August 17, 2011
A report from Smart Growth America says that 21 percent of Florida’s roads have fallen out of good condition. Yes, we need to make difficult decisions to get our nation’s fiscal house back in order; however, transit, active transportation programs, and repair of our roads and bridges should not be on the chopping block. Experts warn that America’s infrastructure is deteriorating so rapidly that it could undermine our ability to compete in a global economy. Spending $1 today to repair a road saves us $6 to $14 to rebuild that road in the future.

On Wide Florida Roads, Running for Dear Life
The New York Times, August 16, 2011
It is no wonder that four Florida metropolitan areas, led by the Orlando region, ranked as the most dangerous places to walk in the country, according to a recent survey by Transportation for America, a nonprofit safety advocacy organization.

Can Suburbs Be Designed to Do Away with the Car?
Scientific American, August 16, 2011
As a result of the new design sensibilities, the Congress for the New Urbanism highlighted King Farm in 2008 as an “exciting” development, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited it as an example of “smart growth.” The planned community checked off all the boxes of the “new urbanist” manifesto: a mix of housing types paired with centrally located amenities, designed for pedestrians and cars as well as public transport–oriented. Instead of embracing that transportation vision, however, the residents of King Farm and the Rockville City Council recently rejected the proposed transit plan—specifically, any light-rail line that would travel down the swath of green explicitly designed to host such a system.

In the heart of Charleston, West Virginia’s downtown is Slack Plaza. Located near the city’s main transit hub and Charleston’s central business district, the concrete-heavy plaza with more parking spots than park benches has attracted more crime than consumers.

But thanks to a Greening America’s Capitals grant from the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, Slack Plaza will one day become a walkable green space that connects important business districts and downtown to transit.

The EPA recently released design plans for Charleston’s Slack Plaza that would make the plaza more inviting to pedestrians. EPA’s project team and landscape architects Origin 4 Design also came up with a design for the plaza that include more green space and permeable pavement; a projection screen for art, movies, or public gathering events; plenty of comfortable seating with ample shade; and LED lighting.

It is undeniable that demand is growing for walkable neighborhoods and communities with access to public transportation, parks and a range of housing choices.

In a blog post on Forbes, Joel Kotkin argues that as young adults — who are currently moving to cities and walkable neighborhoods — get older they will look to live in a car-dependent suburb.

Evidence from the last Census show the opposite [of growing cities]: a marked acceleration of movement not into cities but toward suburban and exurban locations. The simple, usually inexorable effects of maturation may be one reason for this surprising result. Simply put, when 20-somethings get older, they do things like marry, start businesses, settle down and maybe start having kids.

Kotkin’s argument incorrectly focuses on cities versus suburbs — specifically suburbs that are dominated by “automobiles and single-family houses” — without focusing on the types of communities and neighborhoods where people actually want to live. He also ignores the baby boomers who are beginning to retire and realize a large, suburban, car-dependent lifestyle may no longer be the most appealing option.

Economy could hamper Indy’s plans to redevelop 4 sites
Indianapolis Star (Ind.), July 19, 2011
On the edge of an eye-catching Downtown, they are among the eyesores — the empty Bush Stadium, the idled GM stamping plant, the crumbling Keystone Towers and a no-man’s land near Eli Lilly and Co. headquarters. In the past year, Mayor Greg Ballard has announced plans to redevelop those sites into new neighborhoods, with homes within walking distance of jobs, restaurants and stores.

Envisioning a new ‘old’ downtown Fayetteville
The Citizen (Ga.), July 20, 2011
“A History with a Future” may turn out to be more than the slogan associated with Fayetteville. A recently unveiled conceptual plan for “Fayetteville Downtown West” represents what organizers call a long-term development vision that would bring historically-oriented, pedestrian-friendly commercial and residential development to the 9.1-acre area immediately west of downtown between Stonewall Avenue and Lanier Avenue and extending to Tiger Trail.

Post-Katrina Rebuilding Includes Wider, Greener Transit Options
The Huffington Post, July 19, 2011
New Orleans–never a candidate for an underground, subway system–has had on-and-off success with public transit. But as roads became clogged and full of fumes in the post-Katrina era, the city and entrepreneurs have explored ways to expand streetcar lines, make buses greener and restore ferry service on Lake Pontchartrain.

Airports authority endorses aboveground Dulles rail station
The Washington Post, July 20, 2011
Washington’s airports authority Wednesday abandoned plans to build an underground Metro station at Dulles International Airport after months of bitter debate with the governments helping to fund the project to extend rail service to Loudoun County.