3 ms·
Yes, but walkability goes far beyond sidewalks. It's easy to find US cities with plenty of sidewalks that are hideously unwalkable, as well as many streets in
by TulliusCicero 3y ago
Yes, but walkability goes far beyond sidewalks.
It's easy to find US cities with plenty of sidewalks that are hideously unwalkable, as well as many streets in Japan with no sidewalks that are still highly walkable.
- shmerl 3y agoUnless there are separate streets for pedestrians (which is basically non existent in US most of the time), not sure how you can have any city walkable without sidewalks.
- TulliusCicero 3y agoI'm not talking about all streets in a given city obviously. Specifically in Japan, narrow streets with no sidewalks are omnipresent in neighborhoods, and they're still far more walkable than a typical US neighborhood street with sidewalks.
- shmerl 3y agoJapan also favors smaller cars.
- TulliusCicero 3y agoYes, that definitely helps. It's a chicken and egg situation though. If the roads are wide then of course many will buy huge cars, and then urban planners feel they have to accommodate those with wider roads, etc.
- mrguyorama 3y agoMainly by making motorists responsible for killing pedestrians. Instead, in America you mostly don't even get fined for running over a pedestrian, as "it's just an unfortunate accident", even when you have chosen to purchase a vehicle that makes it harder to safely navigate around pedestrians. Consider: Do other countries even have the concept of "Jaywalking", which was explicitly an attempt by vehicle manufacturers to blame pedestrian deaths on pedestrians.
- henryhenryhenry 3y agoCheck out Tokyo. Most streets have no sidewalks. Very walkable.