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Not just Europe! Tokyo, for example, is a remarkably pedestrian and bicycle-friendly city, despite also supporting quite heavy traffic in some areas. And of c

Not just Europe! Tokyo, for example, is a remarkably pedestrian and bicycle-friendly city, despite also supporting quite heavy traffic in some areas. And of course, the extensive train network completely eliminates the need for a car in daily life. If you pick a random place on the map (like [1]), you'll see that the high-speed traffic is very well-separated from residential areas, with infrequent intersections. There is also little incentive to take a "shortcut" through residential areas since neighborhood roads are so narrow. The result is that neighborhood are safe and quiet enough that parents feel safe letting their small children walk along the road. I even see wildlife! See also [2] about mixed-use zoning in Japan. [1] https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6405724,139.622306,14.42z https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6405724,139.622306,14.42z [2] http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html

codeswap 7y ago
The Superblock. This is what makes the these cities so comfortable to live in. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_block#Superblock https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_block#Superblock
- rtpg 7y ago
  And unlike the absolutely terrifying planned city-like look you get from looking at pictures used to represent Superblocks, in Tokyo the superblock mechanism is the logical conclusion of organic development over the decades and has a natural feel, leading to pretty small buildings that are just densely packed together. Almost all[1] roads in Tokyo are single lane! Not "one lane each direction" but "one lane". The massive avenues are sparse because it turns out you don't need that sort of capacity in most places. Walking around Tokyo, even European cities feel super wasteful and car-centric with how wide roads are. [1]: maybe 80%+? Less true in the most popular parts of the city though, where you have the biggest ap't complexes
- wpietri 7y ago
  Oh, interesting! I was just thinking how much space in SF is wasted on roads. I'd love to see them create superblocks and turn some streets into parks, housing, etc.
mschuetz 7y ago
Tokyo did an amazing job at making it's city pedestrian friendly. Wish more big cities would follow its lead.

codeswap 7y ago

The Superblock. This is what makes the these cities so comfortable to live in. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_block#Superblock https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_block#Superblock

rtpg 7y ago
And unlike the absolutely terrifying planned city-like look you get from looking at pictures used to represent Superblocks, in Tokyo the superblock mechanism is the logical conclusion of organic development over the decades and has a natural feel, leading to pretty small buildings that are just densely packed together. Almost all[1] roads in Tokyo are single lane! Not "one lane each direction" but "one lane". The massive avenues are sparse because it turns out you don't need that sort of capacity in most places. Walking around Tokyo, even European cities feel super wasteful and car-centric with how wide roads are. [1]: maybe 80%+? Less true in the most popular parts of the city though, where you have the biggest ap't complexes
wpietri 7y ago
Oh, interesting! I was just thinking how much space in SF is wasted on roads. I'd love to see them create superblocks and turn some streets into parks, housing, etc.

mschuetz 7y ago

Tokyo did an amazing job at making it's city pedestrian friendly. Wish more big cities would follow its lead.