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The article says that walkable neighborhoods are 35% more expensive. So that means you can save quiet a bit on housing if you choose to live in a non-walkable

The article says that walkable neighborhoods are 35% more expensive. So that means you can save quiet a bit on housing if you choose to live in a non-walkable neighborhood.

biohax2015 4y ago
And pay with your mental health..
hd95489 4y ago
Correlation is not causation. Sidewalks mostly exist in high density or very affluent areas
- jewayne 4y ago
  Your definition of "high density" and "very affluent" are different from mine.
prepend 4y ago
I don’t think they are more expensive because they are walkable. I think they are walkable because they are more expensive (deformable locations, amenities). It’s weird that this article makes such a seemingly wrong point.
- actionablefiber 4y ago
  Come to Northern Virginia. We have a very ample supply of ludicrously unaffordable neighborhoods where you also need to be in a motor vehicle just to leave your subdivision because it spits you out onto a highway. Walkable neighborhoods tend to accommodate high densities quite nicely, so the per-person cost is reasonable, however there just are not enough of them.
  - AtlasBarfed 4y ago
    ?So move to DC? BTW, DC + rideshare bike is an amazing upgrade to the usual DC sightseeing experience. You go from walking 10 miles to zipping around on bikes. It was incredible how well DC shrunk with a bike share. Manhattan? Not so much. Chicago? I mean, if you can get to the lakeshore, it gets better, but still not what DC was. Houston was a city that SO BADLY needs to be converted to bikeability. You can bike year round! Alas, Texas + no zoning + oil company capital of America.
    - actionablefiber 4y ago
      As a guy with 2500 bike angels points on CaBi who loves to take visitors on CaBi rides around the major attractions, I'm absolutely with you and Capital Bikeshare is an incredible gem. But Manhattan is great with Citi Bike too. 15 minutes on 1st Ave to reliably get from Houston St to Midtown is just exquisite. I just don't think any of that has to do with my point, lol.
      - AtlasBarfed 4y ago
        My trip to DC was... crap was that TEN years ago? Wow. Anyway, I cannot fathom what e-bikes will do to the city. You don't even need to be young / in shape. EBikes mean everyone gets to putter around DC. I think COVID actually hindered the ebike transformation of major urban centers. People are asking what the point of cities is without offices... people, you need to experience a seamless ebiking experience in a large city, where the infrastructure of millions of people becomes walk out door, unfold and drop your very very portable scooter, ride 15 minutes in the city, stop, fold up scooter. No walk to garage, drive, find insanely expensive parking, walk from parking to your destination. The scooter/ebike is FASTER, practically door to door. The ability of ebikes and scooters to take a big city and, it's like a superpower, shoom, shrinks the entire city by a factor of 5 or 6. Humans basically walk at 3 mph comfortably. Scooters and ebikes? 5x that easily, and with some good dedicated lanes, 8x that easily. A portable escooter where you walz onto subway or el or bus for the longer stuff? Mass transit multiplier too. Europe. I can't imagine what europe would be like for traveling. Backpack, e-scooter, get on train to new city, get off train, drop/unfold e-scooter, practically anywhere in new city is accessible within 15-20 minutes. Fuck all those delivery apps. Why wait for them? If it's not pouring rain, you can get to what you want in 15 minutes. And it's fun, open air, social, sightseeing, get to know the city.
Matthias247 4y ago
Maybe - but it can also come with other costs. In a very walkable neighborhood you might not really need a car. And avoiding the costs for that car could get you the 35% back. (But of course some people might still want a car for reasons besides daily shopping).
- MomoXenosaga 4y ago
  Yes cities have adequate public transportation, side-walks and bike lanes. In fact owning a car may be inconvenient considering the cost of parking!
acdha 4y ago
Consider how much you save versus the health effects of avoiding exercise and spending more time in a car, or the social costs of not knowing your neighbors. When people have kids, grow old, become temporarily or permanently disabled, etc. this kind of setup makes it really easy to become a shut in because leaving the property without driving is too risky.
bediger4000 4y ago
You pay for it in car maintenance and drive time including finding parking.
snowwrestler 4y ago
This is correct when comparable properties are available. They’re not always, though. In some cases less-walkable neighborhoods have larger plot sizes and larger houses, which compensate for the lower per-foot property value and still result in a similar market price.
theluketaylor 4y ago
The CityNerd just did a video on walkable US cities that are also affordable, so affordability doesn't have to be in conflict with walkability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcPaxCTZpfM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcPaxCTZpfM
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

The article says that walkable neighborhoods are 35% more expensive. So that means you can save quiet a bit on housing if you choose to live in a non-walkable neighborhood.

biohax2015 4y ago

And pay with your mental health..

hd95489 4y ago

Correlation is not causation. Sidewalks mostly exist in high density or very affluent areas

jewayne 4y ago
Your definition of "high density" and "very affluent" are different from mine.

prepend 4y ago

I don’t think they are more expensive because they are walkable. I think they are walkable because they are more expensive (deformable locations, amenities). It’s weird that this article makes such a seemingly wrong point.

actionablefiber 4y ago
Come to Northern Virginia. We have a very ample supply of ludicrously unaffordable neighborhoods where you also need to be in a motor vehicle just to leave your subdivision because it spits you out onto a highway. Walkable neighborhoods tend to accommodate high densities quite nicely, so the per-person cost is reasonable, however there just are not enough of them.
- AtlasBarfed 4y ago
  ?So move to DC? BTW, DC + rideshare bike is an amazing upgrade to the usual DC sightseeing experience. You go from walking 10 miles to zipping around on bikes. It was incredible how well DC shrunk with a bike share. Manhattan? Not so much. Chicago? I mean, if you can get to the lakeshore, it gets better, but still not what DC was. Houston was a city that SO BADLY needs to be converted to bikeability. You can bike year round! Alas, Texas + no zoning + oil company capital of America.
  - actionablefiber 4y ago
    As a guy with 2500 bike angels points on CaBi who loves to take visitors on CaBi rides around the major attractions, I'm absolutely with you and Capital Bikeshare is an incredible gem. But Manhattan is great with Citi Bike too. 15 minutes on 1st Ave to reliably get from Houston St to Midtown is just exquisite. I just don't think any of that has to do with my point, lol.
    - AtlasBarfed 4y ago
      My trip to DC was... crap was that TEN years ago? Wow. Anyway, I cannot fathom what e-bikes will do to the city. You don't even need to be young / in shape. EBikes mean everyone gets to putter around DC. I think COVID actually hindered the ebike transformation of major urban centers. People are asking what the point of cities is without offices... people, you need to experience a seamless ebiking experience in a large city, where the infrastructure of millions of people becomes walk out door, unfold and drop your very very portable scooter, ride 15 minutes in the city, stop, fold up scooter. No walk to garage, drive, find insanely expensive parking, walk from parking to your destination. The scooter/ebike is FASTER, practically door to door. The ability of ebikes and scooters to take a big city and, it's like a superpower, shoom, shrinks the entire city by a factor of 5 or 6. Humans basically walk at 3 mph comfortably. Scooters and ebikes? 5x that easily, and with some good dedicated lanes, 8x that easily. A portable escooter where you walz onto subway or el or bus for the longer stuff? Mass transit multiplier too. Europe. I can't imagine what europe would be like for traveling. Backpack, e-scooter, get on train to new city, get off train, drop/unfold e-scooter, practically anywhere in new city is accessible within 15-20 minutes. Fuck all those delivery apps. Why wait for them? If it's not pouring rain, you can get to what you want in 15 minutes. And it's fun, open air, social, sightseeing, get to know the city.

Matthias247 4y ago

Maybe - but it can also come with other costs. In a very walkable neighborhood you might not really need a car. And avoiding the costs for that car could get you the 35% back. (But of course some people might still want a car for reasons besides daily shopping).

MomoXenosaga 4y ago
Yes cities have adequate public transportation, side-walks and bike lanes. In fact owning a car may be inconvenient considering the cost of parking!

acdha 4y ago

Consider how much you save versus the health effects of avoiding exercise and spending more time in a car, or the social costs of not knowing your neighbors. When people have kids, grow old, become temporarily or permanently disabled, etc. this kind of setup makes it really easy to become a shut in because leaving the property without driving is too risky.

bediger4000 4y ago

You pay for it in car maintenance and drive time including finding parking.

snowwrestler 4y ago

This is correct when comparable properties are available. They’re not always, though. In some cases less-walkable neighborhoods have larger plot sizes and larger houses, which compensate for the lower per-foot property value and still result in a similar market price.

theluketaylor 4y ago

The CityNerd just did a video on walkable US cities that are also affordable, so affordability doesn't have to be in conflict with walkability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcPaxCTZpfM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcPaxCTZpfM

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]