Walkable Cities

Living in a neighborhood with sidewalks on every block, large shade trees, speed calming traffic circles, and a small city park near an elementary school I wonder at the practical sense of suburban life without such amenities. Our streets and sidewalks are used constantly by walkers, joggers, bike riders, children, the elderly, and everyone else in-between to go about daily life. This kind of community by design is becoming a more desirable choice for Americans as they deal with long commutes, suburban isolation, and a car-centric life. Reading today about the most walkable and bikeable cities in the country brings home the reality of the places we live as People Places. We cannot go back to an idyllic past but we can go forward with the wisdom of the past to build better communities and to look at positive changes for our current living environments. (Oops, time to take the dogs for a walk.)

"The great economic reset we are in the midst of extends even to Americans' choices of places to live. The popularity of sprawling auto-dependent suburbs is waning. A majority of Americans--six in 10--say they would prefer to live in walkable neighborhoods, in both cities and suburbs, if they could." More on the most walkable cities can be found here.