busyThe problem is that America keeps trying to solve this the wrong way, by building more and bigger roads. What we really need to do is put housing and jobs close together. Among the best approaches is the live-work building, which is not new, it is how many towns have been built for thousands of years: retail or service space below (or in front), living space above (or in back). Just allowing a home business in a spare room or garage is enough to cut the commute. A modern version is the village-apartment or cityscraper, which has retail and recreation floors toward the bottom, then business, and housing on top. You can thus meet most of your needs without even going outdoors. But a walkable neighborhood serves much the same purpose. A person on foot, wheelchair, bike, etc. can get from home to various jobs to other needs like restaurants, grocery stores, and a community center. They don't have to waste hours every day commuting, so they can do more productive things with that time.
If you want to solve the commute problem, look at where the workers are and put some jobspace there. When you build a new workplace that will hire many people, include a place nearby for them to live if they wish. I have seen a very few excellent planned communities where a core employer (e.g. a city hospital) was surrounded by village-apartment buildings, then townhouses, then single-family houses, creating a concise and diverse neighborhood with a wide range of housing options all within a very short distance of many work opportunities.
Lucky me!
November 26 2020, 11:59:36 UTC 7 months ago
I don't have quite the opportunity to pick up take-out or drop by a shop on the way home, but ya know, that isn't so awful.
Re: Lucky me!
November 26 2020, 12:28:56 UTC 7 months ago