Is Walkability Reaching a Tipping Point?

Am I premature, or does it appear that the desire for dense, urban, walkable communities is reaching a tipping point of sorts?  It appears that there are more quality developments planned or being delivered which take the pedestrian and transit into consideration.  It also appears that more press is being devoted to these urban infill projects, further adding to the walkable cause.

In recent weeks, several studies have shown the additional benefits of living and working in dense, walkable communities.  The results of these studies are not surprising to those of us who have advocated for such development for years.  But, the benefits are starting to be discussed in the mainstream.  From having positive financial benefits to trusting one's neighbors more and participating in civic activities more often, studies are showing attributes of walkable, urban lifestyles other than the typical benefits of reduced pollution and gas use.

Even in Atlanta, long a car-centric city, we are seeing recent developments along this line.  The Beltline continues to develop, with a new park opening this weekend.  Recent announcements to develop areas of midtown with dense, walkable projects continue to come, with an announcement today for a new building by Selig and Daniel at its 12th & Midtown project.  These dense, walkable projects are increasing becoming the de facto new development projects in Atlanta and throughout the country.

Could it be that we are starting to see a tipping point here?

Observational Urbanism

There is a great opinion piece in the New Urban News I just received by Robert Steuteville (not yet available online apparently). In it, Steuteville makes the case that Jane Jacobs and new urbanists such as Andres Duany share what he describes as "observational urbanism," meaning an observing and measuring in detail of the surrounding community in order to provide clues to continued development. Jacobs keenly observed her Greenwich Village neighborhood and the ballet that was urban life in The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk observed the small cities and towns, structures, houses, streets and neighborhoods of the Gulf south that appealed to them prior to planning Seaside.

Much can be determined by practicing observational urbanism. Parts of my neighborhood in the Buckhead section of Atlanta were built prior to World War II and parts after the war. With my non-planner background even I can determine which parts of the neighborhood work well from an urbanist perspective, and which don't work quite as well. The area built prior to the war has sidewalks, short setbacks, narrow lots, few garages and a close proximity to the commercial areas on Peachtree and Piedmont. The parts of the neighborhood built after World War II have no sidewalks, much deeper setbacks with wider lots, primarily one-car garages and are more difficult to walk (although the neighborhood is still very walkable by Atlanta standards, and I live in the "newer" area).

There are cues and patterns in all areas for what works now and has worked well and what has not. We don't have to reinvent the wheel or copy blindly from other areas to make urbanism that works everywhere.

The American Dream is Dead

The “American Dream” as we have known it for decades is dead. The stable job, the house in the suburbs, the white picket fence, the two car garage with 2.5 kids – that dream is gone, maybe never to be seen again.

A combination of the recession, the housing bust, years of continued sprawl, high gas prices, an uncertain job market and the ever-changing demographics of the United States have changed our collective priorities. The “American Dream” of the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and even ‘90s has died, replaced with a “New American Dream.”

The New American Dream centers around ideals, not material possessions. Americans have realized that happiness and personal fulfillment come not from a house in the suburbs with a certain number of cars and a dollar amount in the bank account. Instead, happiness comes from the ability to chart one’s own course – to lead lives as we wish to lead them, to do the things we wish to do and to express ourselves and our personalities as we wish.

In a way, the New American Dream is a return to the original ideals of America. The New American Dream marks a return to the individualism which shaped this country in its early years. Yet it is firmly rooted in the 21^st century with its emphasis on social networking and its epicenter in vibrant, urban communities.

The American dream is dead. Long live the American dream.

It's Been a While

It has been almost one year since my last post on this blog. While I have been negligent in my blog posting duties, I have not given up on walkability -- in Atlanta or elsewhere. In fact, I bought a commuter bike about a month ago, often riding it the ~0.8 miles from my house to my office on days when I don't walk.

I'll be back with more posts. In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter @scottcullen72.

Thanks as always for reading.

Bike-Ped Paths Across Major Bridges and Charleston's Cooper River Bridge

There is a story today in Streetsblog regarding the Ohio DOT's reluctance to build a bike/pedestrian path over the replacement of Cleveland's I-90 Innerbelt Bridge for reasons which, well, aren't really reasons at all, it appears. Having spent last weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, I've seen the tremendous use that such a well-designed and well-constructed path can bring.

Charleston's Cooper River Bridge, the longest cable-stay bridge in North America, includes a wide bike and pedestrian path along the eastbound lane. While not an interstate, the bridge is many vehicle lanes wide and is a major artery in the Charleston area, linking the Charleston peninsula with neighboring Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms and eventually leading up to Myrtle Beach. While driving from Charleston over to Sullivan's and Isle of Palms to head to the beach several times last weekend, we noticed the large number of bikers, walkers and runners traversing the bridge, even on days in which the temperature reached 100 degrees. And the bridge is not exactly an easy bike or run, with the bride rising to 575 feet above the Cooper River, from essentially sea level on either side (I know, having run the Cooper River Bridge Run last year which starts in Mount Pleasant, crosses the bridge and ends in downtown Charleston).

These types of paths are not only great amenities to the community, but can actually serve as alternative means of transportation. Apparently the Ohio DOT doesn't get it.

Feds announce $293MM for new transit projects

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today a list of 53 projects nationwide that will receive federal funding for new streetcar and bus facilities. The projects include 6 "Urban Circulator" streetcar projects in Dallas, Fort Worth, Chicago, Cincinnati, Charlotte and St. Louis. Unfortunately, Atlanta's planned streetcar project was not on the list. An additional 47 projects will receive funding for bus facilities and bus-related services. These grants are not related to the TIGER grants awarded in February.

While this announcement is certainly a step in the right direction, $293 million is a drop in the bucket of the overall transportation allocations. As demand for such funding was apparently very high, though, hopefully the administration and Congress will see the need for a much larger allocation of transportation dollars to be allocated to quality, needed transit projects.

Rail & Streetcars Win Stimulus Bucks

The Administration announced today the winners of the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, the $1.5 billion stimulus grant project aimed to send federal dollars directly to specific transportation projects and municipalities rather than diverted through the states. Freight rail projects won the largest sums, with large projects in Chicago and in Tennessee/Alabama securing the biggest grants. Streetcar projects in New Orleans, Tuscon and Dallas also won large grants. Unfortunately for us here in Atlanta, the proposed Peachtree Streetcar project failed to make the list.

The list is a mixed bag of wins and losses for smart growth. The streetcar projects, of course, are positives, and improving existing rail corridors is also beneficial to our transportation network. But some of these projects -- the toll highway through Irving and Grand Prairie, TX, for example -- appear to do nothing to promote the types of projects that the Administration seems to want to support. Overall, this is a step in the right direction, but much, much more is needed to promote smart growth and walkable, non-car-dependent cities.