4 ms·

I moved from New Mexico (impossible to live in without a car), to Tempe Arizona (extremely difficult to live in without a car), to the greater Boston area (triv

I moved from New Mexico (impossible to live in without a car), to Tempe Arizona (extremely difficult to live in without a car), to the greater Boston area (trivial to live in without a car). I love the idea of car-free neighborhoods. I didn't used to, but Boston and a recent trip to Greece completely changed my mind. With that said, this seems like a horrible implementation of a good idea. 1. Arizona? AND the greater Phoenix area of Arizona? HARD pass. Give me AC 24/7 or give me death. I'm sure this will be lovely for the several weeks in winter that AZ is tolerable. 2. Go on Google Street View and start at Boston Commons and "walk" up to Faneuil Hall. That's what a cozy walkable city looks like. This just looks like something between the ASU campus and the Mesa Riverview outdoor mall. 3. A walkable city, in my view, is not "no cars anywhere!!!" It's where you can get from arbitrary point A to arbitrary point B just on foot/bike, in safety, with generous sidewalks and pedestrian lanes, and thriving businesses & gardens & foliage along the way.

MrFoof 4y ago
Even in the cities immediately surrounding Boston, a lot of them are also walk-able. You just have to be a bit picky on location if you still want quick access to subway stations. I'm just outside Boston and within a 15 minute walk of me is: * Multiple supermarkets, plus multiple specialty or small grocers. TWO more supermarkets another 5-10 minutes further walk out. * FIVE playgrounds. Three of which are proper parks. * FIVE different brands of bank branches. * FIVE different gyms or fitness centers. * Three clinics or health care organizations. * Three pharmacies. * A department store, with another just another 10 minutes further walk out. * A primary school, middle school, and high school. * A public library. * A subway station. * A bus stop that goes to said subway station is 100 feet from my back door. Never mind restaurants, fast food, specialty shops, barbers, nail salons, lawyers, garages, tailors, general contractors, convenience stores, etc. Around 2009 after moving here I stopped using a metal box on wheels as a conveyance after about 8 months. I do have a car, but it's only for long trips (family) and for fun on backroads. My primary mode of transportation is walking, followed by subway for long trips where I need to go into Boston/Cambridge or other surrounding cities.
eyelidlessness 4y ago
> I moved from New Mexico (impossible to live in without a car), to Tempe Arizona (extremely difficult to live in without a car) This is astonishing to me as a person who’s visited both many times. I find Santa Fe more walkable than Tempe by (sorry) a mile. And Albuquerque at least moderately more walkable. Both according to your clarification of walkability. Again I’ve only visited all these places and haven’t lived in any, so it’s possible my impressions are distorted by that fact. I’m definitely not disputing the statement! But I’d rather walk in many of the random places in LA (that I’ve also only visited), than walk anywhere in whatever counts for the core/downtown of Tempe. > Boston I grew up in the DC metro (northern VA) but spent little time in the city before I moved to Seattle. Walkability drops sharply off from any east coast city heading west regardless of the city size, with Chicago being a major outlier. Some parts of the VA burbs are more walkable than some parts of Seattle, which is quite walkable despite terrain. It took 20 years and a family health crisis to go back and see just how much difference in density there is in the city and how much difference that makes. I’d never move back if I can help it, but I immediately felt at home dropped into this city I barely knew even growing up by it, and without autonomous access to a car even if it had occurred to me to want that.

MrFoof 4y ago

Even in the cities immediately surrounding Boston, a lot of them are also walk-able. You just have to be a bit picky on location if you still want quick access to subway stations. I'm just outside Boston and within a 15 minute walk of me is: * Multiple supermarkets, plus multiple specialty or small grocers. TWO more supermarkets another 5-10 minutes further walk out. * FIVE playgrounds. Three of which are proper parks. * FIVE different brands of bank branches. * FIVE different gyms or fitness centers. * Three clinics or health care organizations. * Three pharmacies. * A department store, with another just another 10 minutes further walk out. * A primary school, middle school, and high school. * A public library. * A subway station. * A bus stop that goes to said subway station is 100 feet from my back door. Never mind restaurants, fast food, specialty shops, barbers, nail salons, lawyers, garages, tailors, general contractors, convenience stores, etc. Around 2009 after moving here I stopped using a metal box on wheels as a conveyance after about 8 months. I do have a car, but it's only for long trips (family) and for fun on backroads. My primary mode of transportation is walking, followed by subway for long trips where I need to go into Boston/Cambridge or other surrounding cities.

eyelidlessness 4y ago

> I moved from New Mexico (impossible to live in without a car), to Tempe Arizona (extremely difficult to live in without a car) This is astonishing to me as a person who’s visited both many times. I find Santa Fe more walkable than Tempe by (sorry) a mile. And Albuquerque at least moderately more walkable. Both according to your clarification of walkability. Again I’ve only visited all these places and haven’t lived in any, so it’s possible my impressions are distorted by that fact. I’m definitely not disputing the statement! But I’d rather walk in many of the random places in LA (that I’ve also only visited), than walk anywhere in whatever counts for the core/downtown of Tempe. > Boston I grew up in the DC metro (northern VA) but spent little time in the city before I moved to Seattle. Walkability drops sharply off from any east coast city heading west regardless of the city size, with Chicago being a major outlier. Some parts of the VA burbs are more walkable than some parts of Seattle, which is quite walkable despite terrain. It took 20 years and a family health crisis to go back and see just how much difference in density there is in the city and how much difference that makes. I’d never move back if I can help it, but I immediately felt at home dropped into this city I barely knew even growing up by it, and without autonomous access to a car even if it had occurred to me to want that.