What is so impossible about walkable cities?

Posted on June 24, 2011 by n8chz

Is there some Iron Law of Economics to the effect that a walkable neighborhood in the U.S.A. has to be either a college town or a ridiculously gentrified east or west coast city?

h/t the admirable Nominatissima

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4 Responses to What is so impossible about walkable cities?

  1. bloggerclarissa says:
    June 24, 2011 at 23:00

    I live in a college town. And it’s very unfriendly towards walkers. So it’s not even all college towns.

    Reply
  2. n8chz says:
    June 24, 2011 at 23:17

    No, it’s not. Apologies for the over-generalization. There may also be exceptions to the rule that walkable big-city neighborhoods are not all gentrified, but I don’t know of any current examples. I probably should have specified that the reference to the Iron Laws of Economics pertains to a pet theory that if for some reason a cheap-housing (or even average housing) and cheap transportation mecca does manage to exist, it inevitably gets “discovered” by the yuppie sccreative class and other usual suspects. I live in the Detroit suburbs, said to be the ultimate “car as necessity” community. Even here, at least before the housing bubble popped, there were announcements of “walkable developments,” basically newspeak for shopping centers glommed onto and interleaved with condo parks into some (at least internally) walkable mishmash, but always, always, ALWAYS (both the housing and the $hopping) aimed at the “high end” market. Then there’s the new-construction condos w. the faux sheet metal and pipefittings all across the ceiling for that “industrial” look…

    Reply
    • Lindsay says:
      June 25, 2011 at 21:10

      … “walkable developments”, basically newspeak for shopping centers glommed onto and interweaved with condo parks into some (at least internally) walkable mishmash …

      Argh, yes! This annoys me. When I see it, it’s usually a big, “destination”-type shopping center that you can walk around in, but still have to drive to get to.

      Way to miss the point, guys. 😦

      Reply

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