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I didn't understand the article to be against suburbs but against the cul-de-sac supporting layout that makes it hard for people to get around without a car. If

I didn't understand the article to be against suburbs but against the cul-de-sac supporting layout that makes it hard for people to get around without a car. If suburbs were designed differently we could have both space and easier walkability and bikeability. How would you feel about a grid with parks sprinkled in instead of cul-de-sac? I have a small public park across the street and it gets heavy usage from the kids that live around it. Traffic is still pretty low despite the street connecting the neighborhood to the main thoroughfare that leads to the freeway. My wife used to own a home in a development in California that was actually designed around cul-de-sacs. However, there were walk ways between houses that allowed you to get around on foot quickly and be in less than 5 minutes at a small mall that had a grocery store, cafes etc. That also might solve some issues discussed in the article. I do think that the boneheaded zoning in the US that practically aims to ruin walkability is as always a huge factor as well.

jdswain 10y ago
There are quite a few interestingly designed cities in the UK. I used to work in Bracknell which is similar to what you suggest with walking paths and basically parks around many of the houses, especially in an estate called Great Hollands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hollands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hollands). They also have small roads that are dedicated to buses, with underpasses so that they avoid intersections. I didn't live there so I don't know a lot about it, but it did look really good and I used to go for runs along the paths there. Another interesting one to visit is Milton Keynes. This city has a large grid layout with roundabouts at the intersections, and smaller communities inside each grid block. The grid layout is intended to allow for large flows of traffic.
jeffwass 10y ago
>How would you feel about a grid with parks sprinkled in instead of cul-de-sac? Check out Savannah, Georgia. One of the first planned cities in the USA. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squares_of_Savannah,_Georgia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squares_of_Savannah,_Georgia

jdswain 10y ago

There are quite a few interestingly designed cities in the UK. I used to work in Bracknell which is similar to what you suggest with walking paths and basically parks around many of the houses, especially in an estate called Great Hollands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hollands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hollands). They also have small roads that are dedicated to buses, with underpasses so that they avoid intersections. I didn't live there so I don't know a lot about it, but it did look really good and I used to go for runs along the paths there. Another interesting one to visit is Milton Keynes. This city has a large grid layout with roundabouts at the intersections, and smaller communities inside each grid block. The grid layout is intended to allow for large flows of traffic.

jeffwass 10y ago

>How would you feel about a grid with parks sprinkled in instead of cul-de-sac? Check out Savannah, Georgia. One of the first planned cities in the USA. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squares_of_Savannah,_Georgia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squares_of_Savannah,_Georgia