Neighborhood Livability

For many reasons – including high gas prices and prospects - inner city neighborhoods are getting more attention these days. Current and prospective residents are demanding improvements to make these districts more comfortable, cleaner, more walkable, better landscaped and secured. This can extend, in the era of constrained energy resources, to programs that encourage citizens not to own cars. In lots of ways the decision can be made easier.

Who is responsible for keeping sidewalks in good repair, and is there a budget to handle the need?

The absence of access roads and parking can make dense neighborhoods quite attractive and car-free.

Dense city living can still have gems of green and quiet.

Strategies

Much can be done to encourage people of all ages to walk, bike and car-share. Parking policies, street and sidewalk improvements, traffic calming, landscaping and cleaning, and park maintenance are key. Are adequate funds for these public works and services available? Car-sharing, zipcars and other versions of micro-rentals can help those who forgo car ownership.

While far-fling suburbs may be preferred by some families with children, many childless and empty-nested citizens are relocating to in-town locations. As racial prejudices decline and cultural diversity is seen as enriching rather than threatening, walkable city life becomes more fulfilling than driving around in outlying auto-dependent location. Why not live in-town and get around on foot and by transit or an occasional taxi? Save the substantial costs of owning and maintaining a car and filling it with flammable liquids that are getting costlier by the year. Citizens can live car-free and rent several times on the savings.

First and foremost, good neighbors make up a livable neighborhood. The friendlier and more congenial, the better. There should be meeting places and interest groups, well managed care centers for toddlers and seniors, and cultural and recreational facilities for everyone in between. It should be easy to get around without being hassled and threatened by heavy traffic. Neighborhood livability is closely tied to ease of local mobility. Associations and subscriber services should be supported by sound public policies as an extension of mass transit.

Neighborhood Mobility Parking is a large part of it all. Residential streets, sidewalks, and even private yards should not be overrun with parked vehicles. Pedestrian priorities should be enforced. Pockets of air pollution must be mitigated. Light-scale APMs can play a role, and PRT offers even more interesting possibilities for those with vision. Local mobility services can be self-supporting, even profitable. Governmental policies need to figure out how to establish franchises that grant private companies the right to install APM infrastructure, to sell safe public mobility services and gain additional revenues from advertising and utility carriage. Managed traffic and mobility will go a long way towards making urban neighborhoods less car-chocked and more livable. What energy and gasoline savings! Tired old neighborhoods that gave way to suburban preferences in the last half of the 20th Century can become desirable 21st Century where more people choose to lead calmer lives wasting less time battling traffic making long and frequent car trips.

Parking should not crowd out healthier pedestrian circulation.