Making a City More Walkable
... requires a plan. This article suggests installing a simple, generic zoning code instead of the complicated mess we have now. It can later be updated to account for local needs.
I have another idea, based on the fact that most settlements are older than the dumb ideas about suburbia. That means most of them have parts that are well designed. If you want a walkable town, first identify its most walkable areas currently. Often these will be a downtown and/or some preware neighborhoods with a nice grid and a few businesses scattered among the homes. Some towns have a nice walking street, especially if it connects two destinations, like a college and a courthouse.
Are these areas in good shape?
If they are not, but the bones are good, then start by refreshing them. Fix potholes and burned-out streetlights. Trim trees and fill planters with flowers. Install park benches. Survey available business and residential units there, then make policies to support filling all of them. Look for opportunities to invite new businesses cheaply. For example, an unused parking lot could become a food truck park or a farmer's market. An empty lot could turn into a real park so you don't have an unbroken sea of pavement.
If an area is already in good shape, then build from strength. Where are its edges? What lies beyond those edges? Aim to extend the walkable area in a useful direction, toward some other area of interest. Perhaps there is a park or a more modern shopping strip that you could connect with. Map the features of the desirable, walkable neighborhood. Extend zoning and codes to permit those features in nearby areas. If you're wary of changing too much and making mistakes, extend only one block. If you want to do more faster, you can reach several blocks or the next neighborhood. More than that is probably too much at once. Create a plan to encourage walkable development in that target area. Use incremental change to minimize risks.
How well connected are your current walkable areas with your intended ones and other parts of town? The more connections, the better. You need at minimum good wide sidewalks in smooth condition. Bike paths help considerably. You need at least some bus access and real shelters, not just signs at bus stops. A "last mile" hub connecting the bus or train system with walking, biking, skateboarding, etc. is even better. This includes making public space accessible to many modes of travel, not just one or two. Banning human-powered travel on bicycles, skateboards, roller skates, freerunning, etc. leaves you with fat, isolated, unhealthy citizens like we have now. Get them moving. Just make sure infrastructure robust enough to support that variety. Frex, concrete benches are damn sturdy, can look great, and equally serve sitters, skaters, and people who need to stretch out because their back just went on strike. The space must be inviting to diverse people, so include in your planning board a mix of ages, genders, races, religions, ability levels, and any other local points of difference.
I have another idea, based on the fact that most settlements are older than the dumb ideas about suburbia. That means most of them have parts that are well designed. If you want a walkable town, first identify its most walkable areas currently. Often these will be a downtown and/or some preware neighborhoods with a nice grid and a few businesses scattered among the homes. Some towns have a nice walking street, especially if it connects two destinations, like a college and a courthouse.
Are these areas in good shape?
If they are not, but the bones are good, then start by refreshing them. Fix potholes and burned-out streetlights. Trim trees and fill planters with flowers. Install park benches. Survey available business and residential units there, then make policies to support filling all of them. Look for opportunities to invite new businesses cheaply. For example, an unused parking lot could become a food truck park or a farmer's market. An empty lot could turn into a real park so you don't have an unbroken sea of pavement.
If an area is already in good shape, then build from strength. Where are its edges? What lies beyond those edges? Aim to extend the walkable area in a useful direction, toward some other area of interest. Perhaps there is a park or a more modern shopping strip that you could connect with. Map the features of the desirable, walkable neighborhood. Extend zoning and codes to permit those features in nearby areas. If you're wary of changing too much and making mistakes, extend only one block. If you want to do more faster, you can reach several blocks or the next neighborhood. More than that is probably too much at once. Create a plan to encourage walkable development in that target area. Use incremental change to minimize risks.
How well connected are your current walkable areas with your intended ones and other parts of town? The more connections, the better. You need at minimum good wide sidewalks in smooth condition. Bike paths help considerably. You need at least some bus access and real shelters, not just signs at bus stops. A "last mile" hub connecting the bus or train system with walking, biking, skateboarding, etc. is even better. This includes making public space accessible to many modes of travel, not just one or two. Banning human-powered travel on bicycles, skateboards, roller skates, freerunning, etc. leaves you with fat, isolated, unhealthy citizens like we have now. Get them moving. Just make sure infrastructure robust enough to support that variety. Frex, concrete benches are damn sturdy, can look great, and equally serve sitters, skaters, and people who need to stretch out because their back just went on strike. The space must be inviting to diverse people, so include in your planning board a mix of ages, genders, races, religions, ability levels, and any other local points of difference.