The Allure of Walkable Neighborhoods

In suburbia there are rows and rows of little white identical houses and neat cul-de-sacs surrounded by grass and space in complete isolation. For many this sounds like a dream come true and the complete opposite from the concrete cityscapes but for other residents this type of planned development becomes a liability for social, economic and sustainable living.

More and more urban planners are dedicating new approaches to functionality, sustainability and family friendly Walkable Neighborhoods. The inviting character of any accommodating neighborhood impacts every resident in numerous ways.

Considering today’s common residential concerns choosing a walkable neighborhood can be advantageous to your waistline and your wallet.

Just think – a neighborhood with multiple destinations including clusters of grocery stores, banks, family parks, schools, daycare centers, pedestrian and pet trails, bus stops and all pertinent avenues to foster mixed-used development and less costs. How about less reasons to start up the car, go get gas and begin your lengthy ride to your next destination. These communities give consumers a wide range of choices including a more robust and diverse daily life.

Many reports that have been developed on the science and art of walkable neighborhoods echo the same sentiment; healthier lifestyles coincide with mixed-use communities. More parents will walk their children to school, spend less, economize and use public transportation more.

The benefit of nearby destinations encourages residents out of the home to interact with neighbors thus there’s a decrease of crime, a heightened awareness of whom is living in your neighborhood and a direct correlation to the quality of longer life for seniors.

Walkable neighborhoods are nothing new. Our parents sent us to the neighborhood store to pick up some sugar, eggs and milk as we passed by our neighbors chatting away on their front porch. Then along came the challenges of traffic, crime, more personal property full of grass and less sidewalks and there went the decline of our walkable communities. But these characteristics are becoming the newest trend once again.

The attractiveness of convenience is appealing to all age and socio-economic groups.

• Streetscaping for schools provide safer walkways with maximum sight distances.
• Roadways engineered with newer designs provide better designations for speed limits, intersections and raised crossings.
• Calmer vehicular traffic with safe routes for children, seniors, bicycling and walking.

• Eliminate car crashes and the potential of vehicle conflicts by introducing longer driveways, wider sidewalks and drop-off points.

• The introduction of more ramps, alternative curbs and heights and lower signals at intersections to accommodate disabled adults.

Every city in every state has a walkable neighborhood and as more developers embrace the thought of providing much more than just “another white picket fence” home buyers are embracing the thought of active living in functional communities.