More pub for WalkScore

More articles about WalkScore (here, here, here, here, here and here), which we previously mentioned. Not only is this providing some nice pub for WalkScore, but it is helping to promote the positive aspects of measures to increase the walkability of neighborhoods throughout the country.

"Nobody Walks in Los Angeles"....because they can't!!!

Apparently the author fails to make the connection between the lack of ability to walk and use mass transit with a lack of desire to do so. Los Angeles, like most of the sunbelt, developed around the car. It does not have some special car-oriented focus that cities in Texas, Georgia, Florida, etc. don't have. The argument that transit won't work because people in L.A. don't walk is ridiculously short-sighted. People in L.A. don't walk because it is difficult, if not impossible, to do so. The same can be said for much of Atlanta, although the increased density in places like Midtown and Buckhead is making a walkable lifestyle possible. Give people the ability and option to walk, and they will do so.

The Challenge of Mixed Use

Lynn Vannucci's editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle examines the challenges of "new" mixed use developments, with primary focus on the town centers of Windsor and Santana Row in the Bay area. Nice discussion of the positives, as well as some of the limitations, of mixed use developments, along with a Jane Jacobs-esque argument on the merits of mixed use.

Park City cops jump in front of cars to promote pedestrian awareness

Nice campaign by the Park City, Utah cops to promote awareness of pedestrians and cyclists. And to hand out a few tickets.

California to attempt to curb emissions, promote walkable communities

Of course, most of this proposal will likely never be enacted, but the state can and should promote the creation of walkable communities and invest in trasit-oriented infrastructure.

The Death of Suburbia

More calls for investment in transit rather than more and more roads.

Fuel prices forcing a retreat from exurbia back into the core

Interesting article from the NY Times focusing on many in the Denver area rethinking the idea of living in the far exurbs, primarily due to the high cost of transportation. The nice thing about walking to work is that it costs nothing. Many are now coming around to understand this concept. Of course, not everyone can walk to work, and there is a tradeoff between extra space and living closer to the city core. But, many are finding the balance shifting back to less space as the more attractive choice.