Someone on this list once asked about good cities around the country
for car-free living, well, here's B.C. Brown's take on it from her
Pedestrian Observer.
Note that Madison made the list.
-Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Bridget Brown [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 4:08 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Pedestrian Observer #17
Issue #17 of the PEDESTRIAN OBSERVER
It's nearing that time of year when large numbers of U.S.
citizens temporarily leave their quiet subdivisions to stay in
New York City apartment-sized dwelling units parked on small
lawnless plots where they can listen to their neighbors' music
while they walk to a general store to pick up a can of beans
or bag of marshmallows.
Time to get away from it all.
Living this way on a permanent basis might indicate low
economic status, however, might resemble a trailer park. And
then, under most zoning laws, the general store wouldn't be
allowed within walking distance.
Previously, lower-income citizens had the option of living
above shops rather than being separated out into low-income
housing pods. Rather than building single-story strip malls
and cheap, flimsy housing, apartments were regularly built
above stores--a cost-effective and efficient use of space.
These arrangements still exist in well-constructed older
buildings that escaped "urban renewal" and now command some of
the highest rent in the country.
Problem of supply and demand. Time to wake up and smell the zoning.
But back to vacation plans.
If you're looking for a destination that doesn't require a car
to get around, these are from Katie Alvord's list of "A Few
Good Places to Live Car-Free in North America" in her book,
"Divorce Your Car": http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3683
Boston
Boulder, CO
Chicago
Davis, CA
Eugene, OR
Madison, WI
Montreal, Quebec
New York City
Portland, OR
San Francisco
Seattle, Toronto, Ontario
Vancouver, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Washington, DC
They merited listing due to compact construction, good public
transit, accommodations for bicycles, traffic calming or other
innovations. Not all of them are on Amtrak, but Amtrak's rail
sale can be worth checking out: http://tickets.amtrak.com/Amtrak/railsale
Carfree.com also has a list of places around the
world--sections of cities, islands, etc.--that are completely
carfree. http://www.carfree.com/carfree_places.html A few are
even in the United States.
-B.C. Brown
To exit from this list, send me an e-mail saying "no thanks."
For more ranting and back issues: http://www.espressopress.com/pedestria.htm
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