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For me, the COVID has really opened my eyes to how little I need walkability. My preferences completely flipped from "I want walkscore 75+ and ideally 90+" to "

by sershe 5y ago

For me, the COVID has really opened my eyes to how little I need walkability. My preferences completely flipped from "I want walkscore 75+ and ideally 90+" to "I want walkscore to be <15" I used to be very pro-transit and walking (didn't even learn to drive till 30), and even as I was not walking as much just before COVID, I reflexively remained so. When most things closed nearby (so we went out less and finally discovered food delivery), I realized I don't really need to walk places - I don't miss them. With spotty reopenings, when some places were indoors and some outdoor-only in bad weather, we drove to go out and turns out it's much better (unless you plan to drink a lot). With more grocery shopping, walking to groceries was out of the question and turns out, even in a dense city, driving for the same amount of time to get groceries is so much more convenient. Etc. I can see benefits of a park nearby, but that's about it... and then again, in overall less walkable areas parks are less crowded, larger, and also cleaner/nicer. EDIT: reading other comments I guess I can see benefits for kids, although only with more old-style parenting. I could take a subway by myself when I was 10 or so, and walk around everywhere obviously, so that gives a lot of independence you cannot have in suburbs.

x3iv130f 5y ago
Automobile travel is nice in rural areas but it introduces too many problems for cities with any sort of density. Traffic, noise pollution, air quality, and auto accidents are all things the unfortunate city dweller is forced to live with because cars are given free reign on streets. Cities need to convert their freeways to toll roads and limit the registration of vehicles to what the infrastructure can actually handle.
- sershe 5y ago
  If people prefer driving, that may just cause more people to move away.
kelnos 5y ago
I certainly drove more during the pandemic (though this may have been because I stopped using Lyft due to safety concerns), but I never stopped appreciating living in a walkable neighborhood. Certainly openings were a bit spotty here and there, but having a small grocery nearby, as well as a few restaurants with outdoor seating, was a boon to our mental health while otherwise stuck at home most of the time. We got food delivered more than usual, to be sure, but that still felt like a supplement, not the main mode of eating.
- sershe 5y ago
  But "small places nearby" were also closed... that is what made me realize how little I need them. Having to drive to more distant places, something I previously might not have preferred, turned out to be much more convenient, something I didn't expect... try it ;)

by sershe 5y ago

x3iv130f 5y ago

Automobile travel is nice in rural areas but it introduces too many problems for cities with any sort of density. Traffic, noise pollution, air quality, and auto accidents are all things the unfortunate city dweller is forced to live with because cars are given free reign on streets. Cities need to convert their freeways to toll roads and limit the registration of vehicles to what the infrastructure can actually handle.

sershe 5y ago
If people prefer driving, that may just cause more people to move away.

kelnos 5y ago

I certainly drove more during the pandemic (though this may have been because I stopped using Lyft due to safety concerns), but I never stopped appreciating living in a walkable neighborhood. Certainly openings were a bit spotty here and there, but having a small grocery nearby, as well as a few restaurants with outdoor seating, was a boon to our mental health while otherwise stuck at home most of the time. We got food delivered more than usual, to be sure, but that still felt like a supplement, not the main mode of eating.

sershe 5y ago
But "small places nearby" were also closed... that is what made me realize how little I need them. Having to drive to more distant places, something I previously might not have preferred, turned out to be much more convenient, something I didn't expect... try it ;)