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Even in the suburbs they could make neighborhoods more walkable. I never understand why US neighborhoods don’t have small walkways that connect one street to th
by spaetzleesser 6y ago
Even in the suburbs they could make neighborhoods more walkable. I never understand why US neighborhoods don’t have small walkways that connect one street to the other. I am not sure if it’s just thoughtless or active opposition against walking.
- cafard 6y agoSome of the older close-in suburbs do, for example in Silver Spring, Maryland, just inside the Beltway.
- aaronbrethorst 6y agoThe thinking is that it keeps out poor people and people of color. “There is this perception… that if we have sidewalks, we’re going to bring people who do not belong to our neighborhoods,” she says. In the post-World War II era, many Americans left the cities to live in suburbs with big garages and, just as important, people who weren’t white and middle class like them. https://www.popsci.com/politics-versus-sidewalks/ https://www.popsci.com/politics-versus-sidewalks/
- kortilla 6y agoAll of the neighborhoods built in the 50s near me in California had sidewalks, no mandatory setbacks, and zoning that allowed corner stores, making them pleasant to walk through. The zoning didn’t seem to go to shit until much later than the “post-WW2” generalization.
- aaronbrethorst 6y agoCalifornia != United States. Here's an example about post-war suburbs from near Minneapolis, where I grew up: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/fight-over-suburban-sidewalks-a-window-onto-21st-century-life/ https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/fight-over-suburba...
- kortilla 6y agoCalifornia is certainly part of the US though. Anecdotes invalidate stupid generalizations but anecdotes don’t validate generalizations. You should look up the history of Edina. It was established well before the war and had laws until shortly after the war that land had to be owned by Caucasians. They had no interest in sidewalks when they were built even when they had laws explicitly keeping minorities out.
- coldtea 6y agoYes, because at the post-WW2 time they could more openly keep blacks out even without covert zoning laws...
- 082349872349872 6y agoWhat some friends remember most about their grad student days in the States is having the police called on them because they were walking around their neighbourhood. "We have a car. It's in our garage." was their defence when grilled by the responding officer. (don't even ask about their anecdote about after-dark US walking etiquette)
- tomcooks 6y agoPlease share if you can, I had no idea there was a night walking etiquette in the US
- _wldu 6y agoIt depends on the state. Texas is a good example of a state with property protection laws that differ at night. https://www.dougmurphylaw.com/defense-of-property https://www.dougmurphylaw.com/defense-of-property If I were walking at night in Texas, I'd be sure to always stay on clearly marked public sidewalks and paths.
- arethuza 6y agoAn interesting article on the Scottish "right to roam" written from a US perspective: https://www.backpacker.com/stories/scotland-right-to-roam https://www.backpacker.com/stories/scotland-right-to-roam
- 082349872349872 6y agoand (for germanophones and machine translation users) an article on US "no trespassing" written from a german swiss perspective: https://tageswoche.ch/allgemein/das-land-der-grossen-freiheit/ https://tageswoche.ch/allgemein/das-land-der-grossen-freihei... (the caption on the "survivors will be shot again" sign is "they're serious": Die meinen das ernst.) relevant law clause in english: https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/19070042/index.html#a699 https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/19070042/...
- 6y ago