Can U.S. Cities Build Narrow European Streets?

[@CityBeautiful]

I'm grading final exams while this video is launching. Share your favorite narrow streets in the comments to distract me!

[@1706j]

Nah hurry up instead them poor students are waiting💀

[@WilliamRayner3]

Any street in Philly. You could spend days roaming around the older neighborhoods in the city and exploring all the old narrow streets. Quince is just one of the better known ones.

[@masterimbecile]

Not US, but I loved how the narrow medieval streets in the Albaicín quarter of Granada, Spain wind their way up the hill. So absolutely charming!

[@TheKewlPerson]

Lots of the streets in Tokyo and other Japanese cities are similarly narrow, while still allowing cars. They're so narrow in fact that there's a kind of car designed specifically for the narrow streets called a Kei car.

[@forzared101]

Riggs Place in DC's Dupont Circle neighborhood looks great in the fall.

[@rockym9981]

A new neighborhood in Arizona, Culdesac Tempe, is basically doing this right now! They took a large city block and crisscrossed it with small pedestrian streets, one emergency access road, and no resident parking!

[@Lurch685]

And that’s just the first community they have planned. 1,000 people. Next one is 10,000!

[@colvinvandommelen2156]

correction, they have parking for all their residents, but it’s for bikes so you don’t even notice it

[@zacharyesparza9300]

Im living in Arizona currently and have always thought that Phoenix metropolitan area has so much promise to density and have nice transit due to its grid design and wide streets. Won’t have to tear down buildings at all to add bike lanes and transit or wider sidewalks since all you would have to do is shrink the road use for cars.

[@VulcanLogic]

Every abandoned mall and big box site in North America should be converted to this. The typical Walmart sits within a 34 acre parking lot. You could put two of the Culdesac developments in that one Walmart, with 2000 residential units, and still have a grocery located within.

[@ericwright8592]

It's a good start. But very quickly can morph right back into giant private apartment or shopping complexes. If a 10,000 resident pre-planned community is wholly private land you lose all the public domain. It's much more likely to feel like an amusement park or shopping mall than a real organic place. Real places are made piecemeal over time, building by building. When a single property developer makes multiple city blocks in one go, it leaves huge chunks of a city owned and designed by a single entity.

[@kailahmann1823]

Europeans: "Rome is a hellscape of way to many cars!" Americans: "See this paradise of urban planning, where you can live without a car!"

[@oyuyuy]

There are a lot of cars in Rome, but it's still very walkable, at least in the center. Outside the center there's a pretty big lack of sidewalks and pedestrian streets though tbf.

[@JinMeowsoon]

Don’t know how it is in Rome, but to compare 2000+ years old cities, in Paris it’s quite tedious to drive around, the traffic jam is insane and there’s little parking spots. It’s almost the opposite of the US, people largely commute by public transportation because driving is not efficient (also the licence and car are so expensive most Francilians don’t bother). However public transportations has its limits, if point A and/or point B are not well served by the public transportation network then it can take x2, x3, x4… the time than commuting by car and regularly the bus just do not show up. So people end up driving because that’s the only reliable option.

[@sesaarinen]

I personally hate Rome. Other, not too ancient cities are definitely easier to actually live and work in (such as Berlin, Paris)

[@edwardmiessner6502]

@@JinMeowsoon But Paris has 2.17 million people in an area the size of a US Midwestern township! It could easily be traversed by bike. And the mayor knows this which is why she's making the city more bicycle friendly.

[@RedKnight-fn6jr]

A hellscape vision under the Hammer and Sickle! Peasants on bicycles under elites in private jets! The song 'This is NOT America' comes to mind!

[@barryrobbins7694]

Salt Lake City and Rome may not have been _built_ in a day, but Salt Lake City looks like it could have been _designed_ in a day.

[@TimBryan]

@@tuckerbugeaternot from a revenue/acre perspective. American development is such a waste of space and tax dollars.

[@JesusManera]

@@tuckerbugeater Function doesn't equate to quality of life though. I mean, life is not about efficiency, work, it's not a competition or a rat race, life is ultimately about leisure, experiences, enjoyment and fun. It's to be taken slowly and enjoyed. Where I live, shopping isn't a chore for example. We go for a leisurely walk, pass by neighbourhood cafes, grab a coffee, chat with friends, buy a few groceries while we're out, then maybe walk the pram through a park on the way home. That is so much nicer than getting in a car on a 6 lane road, to a large parking lot, filling the trunk, and driving home. What kind of life is that? We only have a limited number of hours on this earth, we should be making the most of all of them and not wasting any on 'chores'. US design forces daily activities to be chores rather than recreation. By the way, I don't live in an apartment, I live in a family house too. But, I only drive about once every two weeks. We are surrounded by beautiful parks and recreation in every direction. We walk only 10 minutes to the beach with our dog and pram. We have a small supermarket a 2 minute walk away, but on our 10 minute walk to a larger supermarket we literally pass about 12 cafes (not a Starbucks in sight) with people sitting out the front enjoying life. After a day walking along the beach on Sunday and art markets on Sunday morning followed by an incredible middle-eastern inspired brunch and great coffee on a pedestrianized street full of outdoor seating, on Sunday night I went out to 4 different bars with a couple of friends, each one had live music, amazing food, creative drinks, we watched a stunning sunset over the bay, walked to and between all of the venues and then walked home to my house which is peaceful, quiet and surrounded by trees and birds singing. Does a "functional" US city set up for driving and parking lots allow for people to enjoy both the serenity of a suburban home AND the ability to have so much leisure within a pleasant walk? It easily could if the zoning simply allowed it. I have been to Salt Lake City before, and it was one of the most lifeless, miserable and boring city centres I've ever been to in my life. You couldn't pay me to live there. The city I live in (which is not in Europe by the way, and is also very car friendly and has a lot of suburbia), however, was named the "World's Most Liveable City" 7 years in a row in the 2010s so it must be doing something right that many US cities like Salt Lake are not.

[@srirampatnaik9164]

@@JesusManera Melbourne? Or Montreal?

[@rajuaditya1914]

@@JesusManera That's one of the most pathetic things I have heard. You have no ambition.

[@Paltse]

No place is complete before it is completely deserted.

[@morganscharman5027]

What’s even crazier than our huge block sizes in Salt Lake is that some of them are either half or entirely surface parking lots 🙃

[@RealGJZig]

Never mind that it's crazy, the vulgarity is that they're 33% full 95% of the time. Thanks to suburban sprawl, asphalt has replaced much needed green space

[@lenaely6146]

Exactly. That's the result of building a SQUATTER nation absent sovereigns oversight and permission.

[@p-san]

This is true.

[@ncard00]

Please up the video quality to 4K60fps :)

[@jofujino]

That was what I was thinking too with respect to my city. Yeah we have big blocks but as a pedestrian it is relatively easy to find a way to cut through a block rather than walk all the way around the perimeter. Many blocks consist of parking or smaller buildings with maintenance and loading paths between the buildings you can cut through. Or they consist of one massive building with multiple entrances and exits and sometimes retail/coffee shops or a public lobby on the ground floor you can pass through. I don't think we need smaller streets or blocks because we already would just cut through the block.

[@ScooterinAB]

I was in Kyoto once and was following a map. I saw that i needed to turn, walk half a block, then turn again. However, I didn't realize the scale meant that that "half-block corner" was actually just a ramen shop, and the second turn was just a few feet away. It was so mindblowing, coming from Canada and growing up around arterials with a half dozen lanes across.

[@MrOdrzut]

There are some cities build on triangles instead of rectangles. For example Szczecin in Poland. 3 turns is 360 degrees. This fucks up with your intuitive sense of space and navigation in so many ways :)

[@treycherie6236]

In Baltimore, we call these “alley houses”. It’s a shame how many have been demolished and had their alley streets closed

[@sarahrose9944]

What have they been replaced with?

[@treycherie6236]

@@sarahrose9944 I can think of one that’s being turned into a park!

[@theactivecoconut6077]

@@sarahrose9944crackheads mostly

[@krillin876]

In Baltimore people do try to buy them and fix them but they end up getting murdered. Literally

[@MrVaDelux]

@@krillin876 not even murdered but they finally realize why baltimore isnt worth it. U buy a house looking to fix it up and flip it only to find out there were 6 shootings near the house last month and a shootout happened last week. Baltimore has insane potential but its baltimoreans that hold the city back. Love bmore but damn nobody wanna invest and take a risk on that city, look at all the houses on the market broken down and abandoned for 50-90k those same houses are 600k+ in dc.

[@theorangebuilding]

I just moved to Philly and have been floored by the perfect walkability that is center city and South Philly streets. Their commitment to mixed use development makes each neighborhood immanently liveable. The only drawback is that the small footprint inhibited the development of large parks.

[@phillygrunt2154]

Life long Philadelphian, the city’s got so much charm to it

[@Myron90]

That area is really cool

[@GIRLRAZR]

Er do what now? Fairmount Park is the largest landscaped urban park in the world!

[@theorangebuilding]

@@GIRLRAZR Right, but south philly lacks parks that are in the .075 to .2 sq mile range. Versatile parks that can host more than a few functions and offer a real repreive from the urban landscape.

[@AB-wf8ek]

Yea Philly! When I saw the thumbnail, I recognized it right away. I've been living in Philly close to 20 years without a car. My secret is riding a bike, I can get anywhere I want without ever worrying about parking. There's maybe only a handful of days a year I can't ride due to weather, and I can easily take public transportation or ride share. Riding along the Schuykill is my favorite, and parks are plenty. I regularly go to FDR, Girard Park, or Rittenhouse. With the money I've saved from not owning a car, I was able to buy a house. Many Americans make excuses for not wanting to invest in public transportation and bike infrastructure, they really don't know what they're missing.

[@peachapplebanana]

I absolutely love those parts of Philly. They’re quiet and friendly, but so close to everything. If I was going to move into the city I would try to get one of those houses for sure

[@een_schildpad]

Same here! If I could afford it with how popular they probably are 🙃

[@colechapman6976]

Same. They aren't NYC expensive but are pricey. I am planning on renting there when I save up the money to move. I think Philly has its issues, but these areas are far from all that and it's mostly gang on gang violence in the ghetto areas that bring the murder rate up. I visited Philadelphia often and felt very safe in Society Hill, Fiitler Square, Old City, and Northern Liberties. I walked everywhere and it was great walking in a pedestrian-friendly city that is very flat and condensed. The train network might not be as great as say NYC, but you feel more like a person instead of an ant with all those skyscrapers NYC has. While it may not have as many things, it's less expensive and polluted. I think it has a ton going for it

[@GIRLRAZR]

Get some money so you can live in the nice parts like me. Philly great love it!! =)

[@GojiMet86]

Narrower streets with limited or no traffic are much more peaceful and stress-free than both big, noisy, wide streets and stroads with AND even without car traffic. You feel like you can walk anywhere, but with wider streets there is always a sense of just sticking to the sidewalks. Even when they close streets and avenues in NYC, there is a psychological need to walk just on the sides instead of venturing unto the road.

[@xavierdomenico]

Same thing with the popularity of Disneyland and that taste of the walkable, pedestrian friendly "American Main Street" experience our country used to know

[@bcase5328]

If you were to add walking streets inside a block, don't make them straight or thru connections, (because straight thru connections are attractive to be made into motorize fast travel from point A to point B).

[@jasonreed7522]

That psychological need to stick to the edges is called survival instinct/fear. Since childhood we are taught to stay out of the road for our own protection, and to be wary while crossing it because we ultimately can only trust ourselves to look out for our own well-being. This means its very ingrained to stay away from the middle of the road no matter what state its in. (Even on private logging roads with super low traffic volumes i walk along the edge and not down the center) A slightly different factor is that black asphalt gets really hot in sunlight so being on it sucks as a human. (Although this doesn't so much push you to the edge as completely off and into buildings or onto the grass)

[@drscopeify]

Most European cities with narrow streets were built so on purpose for military and defensive reasons to hold back invading enemies and allow resistance to prevent takeover. This is not a consideration in the USA.

[@Player-hx1gs]

@@bcase5328 , I'd say DO make them straight through connections - so that they offer a reasonable route for non-car modes.

[@TomPhoolery]

I’m a resident of Philadelphia and can confirm that this kind of interconnected side-street network is more common than you’d think, it just depends on where you are and when it was built. The Fishtown and Northern Liberties areas also include a lot of interconnected side streets beyond the overall grid, though they were built much later. Fishtown, the neighborhood I live in, happens to be located where the grids “collide”, so it’s very walkable in this same manner. I think as long as we adopt a transit-first approach to planning in Philly, we can overcome the lack of on-site parking and make it both safe and cheap to park your car closer to high speed mass transit, and then use that (or just walk/bike) to get around. We shouldn’t really need cars, and IMO they make city living harder, not easier.

[@phillygrunt2154]

Philly just isn’t meant for cars and I’m a Philadelphian truck driver!

[@sebastien3411]

Yep. Basically all of south Philly has narrow interstitial streets like the ones in the video (though sadly with fewer trees). For the last 15 years I've been living on a street that's barely wide enough for 1 car to get by and has no on street parking. I absolutely love it. It's great for families too, since you can let your kids play outside on the street with friends without having to worry about cars.

[@kemsatofficial]

I think the USA could benefit from Barcelona-style superblocks. It would be similar to what you said about big blocks being broken up by small pedestrian streets.

[@Will_JJHP]

Absolutely. This has been a talking point among urbanists here in the US for years and it makes a lot of sense for our grid systems

[@kumarg3598]

Have you ever been to the projects? We have superblocks here but they turn into drug markets.

[@Labyrinth6000]

No, I love to drive, this channel apparently hates our countries system and is bent on trying to convince others to turn into Europe...

[@mdhazeldine]

Salt Lake City has blocks that are about 200x200m. Barcelona normal blocks are about 100x100m and the super blocks are made up of 9 blocks, so 300x300m. You could easily divide a Salt Lake city block into 4 smaller blocks by adding 2 streets in a cross pattern and achieve something very similar.

[@whgaming7262]

Interesting fact, original plan for Eixample (the blocky part of Barcelona) was intended to have pathways, parks and public spaces within each block, but unfortunately they all got entirely built out

[@jconti123]

I live on quince Street in Philly. Because we have no 'outdoor space' we hang out on the street. Grilling or throwing the football around. Because there's no/minimal cars it's very much a public shared space that you can hang out on. It's how/where I meet all my neighbors and out-of-towners

[@jaeden9185]

If Philly continues to build retail + public transit, it’ll be the most “urban+walkable” city in the US to me

[@smith22]

Great vid! I was just telling my students the other week about how Boston and Philly are the two cities to go to in the US if you want a Euro pedestrian experience! And we'd also touched on that very interesting situation: how Euro cities seem "organic" in their growth, like they grew up right out of the earth (whereas US cities are generally very Sim City -esque).

[@icomefromcanadia2783]

Lots of old blocks in London, and elsewhere in The UK have old mews, originally for horses and such, that have often been converted into additional housing units, but could also stand as inspiration for weaving parking into terraced home blocks. They often have a single car width entrance with nicely built archways over/around them, so from the street, the beautiful old blocks aren't interrupted by giant parking lots or open garage entrances. These then open to a small courtyard where there could either be parking spots directly, or they it could open into individual garages, or a parkade entrance. The main thing is that an inset mews-type space gives a spot for parking, and access to the back of units without the visual or spatial interruption of an open, exposed parking area. Parking is perfectly accessible, but hidden from and minimized on the narrower, more pedestrian friendly street frontages; instead of multiple garage entrances on the street, all cars are funneled to the one pleasant entrance to the mews, yet by having a courtyard-like space inside the mews, they still offer direct access to the backs of the units on that block/building. The built up archways actually create visual interest to the block as they form part of the built facades, even if it's just an entrance to parking.

[@toastquest1681]

there's a tiny single block of charming rowhouses in my american city, and it's so narrow there's only space for parking on one side and one sidewalk on the other. it's absolutely lovely and cozy, and is protected as historic.

[@redditstop1653]

Philadelphia?

[@papaicebreakerii8180]

@@redditstop1653there’s rowhouses al over the Midatlantic. Could be anywhere in East PA, NJ, Delaware or Maryland

[@redditstop1653]

@@papaicebreakerii8180 True, even Midwest cities have row houses look at Saint Louis and Pullman district in chicago

[@DavidLopez-rk6em]

​@redditstop1653 The northeast and midwest have most of the rowhouses in the US. The modwest boomed during the industrial revolution, so there are a lot of old cities that were built without cars and parking lots in mind. Most of the midwest cities destroyed their walkable cities to accommodate cars, or the fell into disrepair from white flight. It's so sad to look at cities from the midwest. They had beautiful architecture and they no longer exist

[@redditstop1653]

@@DavidLopez-rk6em Yes. Even at the most wealthiest neighborhoods in central St. Louis there are still vacant lots between row house blocks (Many were converted to side yards for existing homes). Only a handful of cities such as Chicago, Madison, and Minneapolis still have strong urban cores in the Midwest.

[@Kodeb8]

I just love the irony that Americans are so aggressive towards dense urbanism that we turn an old narrow street into a tourist attraction.

[@Urbanhandyman]

@@Labyrinth6000 Save our asphalt.

[@Kodeb8]

@@Labyrinth6000 Trust me, I'm not one of those clowns. I like being an American and I probably wouldn't trade it for anything else, that said, I like European style cities more. If you wanna have your big suburban houses and your wide roads, go ahead. This isn't about taking anyone's freedom away, it's about choice, and right now, it's impossible to have that choice because building walkable cities is illegal almost everywhere.

[@afroabroad]

Especially urbanism like hong kong and singapore. they have those narrow streets just like Europe and no skyscrapers at all.

[@MATT-qu7pl]

Incredibly run down and inefficient?

[@blueninja012]

​​​@@Labyrinth6000I love having freedom from choice 🇺🇸

[@theangrycynic4389]

You should take a look at Baltimore. It's got a really good setup for improvement right now, and there are many walkable neighborhoods that you don't need a car in. They are also looking to expand transit, but we have many roads of abandoned yet high-density housing that could be transformed into something like this. I believe that would help the city a lot.

[@ssquints8056]

Totally agree. Baltimore is a beautiful city with an incredible amount of "vacants." However, where there are neighborhood improvements, rising rents becomes an issue

[@JohnFromAccounting]

Baltimore has a reputation of having high crime. That needs to be fixed before people want to move there again. A shame because it has an interesting history.

[@cinnanyan]

​@@JohnFromAccountingthere's so much construction on the east side, I think people are moving here

[@dx-ek4vr]

@@ssquints8056 There's gotta be a way to improve cities without gentrifying them (and thus, kick out residents who lived there for years, and may have low income)

[@joenuts5167]

@@dx-ek4vr there ain’t. You want people to spend millions fixing homes without raising prices? In what world

[@ndelli23]

I relate so much to quince street! I’ve been in Philly since I came here for school 12 years ago and stumbling upon quince and camac my freshman year helped me fall in love with walking around the city

[@townhell]

Developing townhouse blocks with narrow internal streets has been happening for a while in places like Sacramento. Take a look at satellite view and you'll find several. However what you usually get is a condo-like superstructure with private driveways of garage after garage. Slightly better are internal landscaped paths but they are inevitably gated. That is a limitation of the whole block being developed at once by a single builder. More interesting is the current organic trend of building of housing on alleys, which is happening throughout Sacramento's grid and results in a true mix of housing types and styles.

[@josephfisher426]

It probably IS a condo. When they're short on space, a lot of developers look to use "two-over-twos," which is like selling a townhouse twice minus the expense of setting up the condominium regime.

[@blogdesign7126]

Yes I remember when the Kings moves from Natomas to Downtown at the now Golden 1 arena is when this happened. Sure these things that the video is suggesting work in Downtown areas wanting to boost tourism to the district. All this video is suggesting works in San Francisco, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, Downtown Napa, Davis, West Sacramento and Sacramento to boost visitors to those districts. However I live halfway from all these places like Fairfield and Vacaville and they would not fly here due to the area being suburban and wildfire risks in these areas.

[@henryreinach8328]

I grew up on Jessup St, shown in the video right next to Quince!! Absolutely amazing area to grow up, I wish that the US had more of this.

[@pjflynn5978]

Just went to Elfreth’s Alley today!! Such a beautiful neighborhood, with many more streets like it all around Philly!

[@archonthaaproducer]

You’re the only pro walkable city channel that doesn’t sound so condescending. I really appreciate that

[@BrutalOddball]

Fire engineer here. On the topic of firefighter access, in my (European) country, the expectation is that the firetruck should be able to set up no more than 50 meters away from any one house so the firefighters can easily access those last 50 meters with their equipment.

[@RichTCS]

I'm curious about the average size of firefighting equipment/trucks in Europe? Are they typically as large as American firetrucks or are they also more compact (i.e., could fit in a narrower street)?

[@keno.3043]

@@RichTCS more compact

[@ramochai]

Why do American fire trucks have to be so big? Can’t they come up with smaller versions?

[@blubaughmr]

I'm an architect in the US. The concept here is that the fire truck should be able to pull right up tight against the burning building, with fire coming out the windows. When I was a baby architect I foolishly questioned that and learned quick that the fire marshal is king, and it doesn't matter what the code says, what counts is what he says. I learned to just hold my breath through the fire department review, and hope we got off with just having to add a fire hydrant, or loop some water lines or something.

[@1224chrisng]

If they want 2 firetrucks, is it possible to make it 1 lane wide, with enough pedestrian and bike lanes to bulk it up to 2 lanes of width total?

[@Bioniking]

Where I used to live in Seattle, they tore down an old orphanage (no comment on that) and built luxury townhomes. The townhomes are ludicrously expensive, but they capture some of that east coast urbanism, with dense single family homes and duplexes, and narrow streets. It was really a pleasure to walk around

[@josephfisher426]

Was it an orphanage or a whole prison complex?! An orphanage would be one building...

[@PrograError]

@@josephfisher426 former owner : i would like to plead the Fifth

[@soccerruben1]

Ngl, it’s weird that townhomes for rich folks used to be an orphanage back in the day.

[@JeremiahBelocura]

I can’t love enough that Philly is being showcased in this video! Thanks, City Beautiful! 🔔 🥨 🇺🇸

[@mkphilly]

Nice vid. I've been Philly Center City resident since 1970 and I still love finding the small streets in many of the neighborhoods in and around the core: what you showed is only a tiny example.

[@albionmerrick]

I recognized that thumbnail instantly. Philadelphia has so much untapped potential!

[@timopraxis]

Love it. I am committed to seeing more cities have these options while I am still living to enjoy it!

[@een_schildpad]

Heck yeah! I also really really want to have the option to live in a place like this in the US. I'm not sure how yet 😅 My kids joke that we should just start a new car-free city in a cornfield. Maybe that's what it will take 🙃

[@hudson5112]

I live in the Washington Square neighborhood of Philadelphia and walk the narrow streets here (including Quince St.) on a daily basis. These streets are peaceful and so beautiful that it feels as though I'm walking through a painting. I moved to Center City from Florida years ago largely so I could finally live a car-free lifestyle. I haven't driven a car in over a decade and it has been wonderful!!!

[@GregSimerlink]

I moved to the Philadelphia area just over a year ago and love it (moved from a suburban expanse in Ohio). My town is on the NJ side and is very walkable. So many places in the area are walkable, plus there's great public transit that ties into the whole Philly framework. There are issues of course, but overall I really love the feel compared to what I was used to in typical suburbia

[@Silverbrick27]

As a Brit whose never been anywhere but Europe and Africa, seeing US zoning rules, blocks etc make me so baffled! It's amazing how different it is

[@waywardgeologist2520]

There is a push to get rid of zoning laws in the U.S.. unfortunately vested interest is fight it to “protect home values.”

[@veziculorile]

amazingly bad

[@elisanoro]

​@@veziculorileindeed, amazingly bad. Amazingly awful even!!

[@blogdesign7126]

@@veziculorile Agreed.

[@alexwright4930]

Glasgow has a grid system to a degree, but way smaller and walkable. Milton Keynes - the post World War II New Town - has 1 km grids with lots of roundabouts, with the city centre districts and various suburbs inside the grids. But has cycle paths crossing it and at least some bus routes.

[@NoobToobJamarMemes]

First off, I am thankful that the US has all these roads to work with in the first place. We basically don't have to demolish buildings to put new transit in, which is very nice. We can take one of our large American roads and stuff it with light rail and bike lines while still having room for cars (not to mention the sidewalks along the side that I didn't mention). That aside, we could take our large blocks and combine them--stay with me--with a few more, get rid of the super wide roads in favor of 6 meter ones (to stay within the fire code), and BOOM! You have a community with plenty of small walkable roads that are still connected to regular roads; regular roads that would ideally have light rail, bike lanes, and/or good bus networks. You basically would have the benefits of a European and American style city in one. You want a quiet place to live without street traffic? Done. You want to be near a road for ease of travel? Done; just live in a house the neighbors a larger road. You want more walkability? Done. And in these much larger grids, we could fit in some small areas for parking along with a parking garage (multi-story parking lot for those who might not know). This would get rid of large concrete lots that quite honestly could be put to better use. We would have a middle ground between walkability and ease of travel. Just an idea.

[@Hbraam]

The Americans have been so pracmatic, versatile and invenstive in history. They built an impressive army from virtually nothing in 1942, they went to the moon within a decade and so on. It amazes me that nontheless that they are sticking to an ineffecient, ineffective, costly and depressive way of building cities as if change is not an opportunity but something one should abhor. The bigger part of the USA seems to be stuck in time and vision.

[@jasonreed7522]

The 1950s had some very effective propaganda, first selling the car as the definition of freedom and how that justifies car infrastructure to make that a self fulfilling prophecy (because now you actually need a car to go anywhere, hence a car has literally become freedom from the prison of your home). And the suburb was sold as the ultimate compromise between rural and urban life, all the safety, clean air, and space of the countryside with all the amenities and economic opportunities of the city. (The reality is not so much) And so today we may still be capable of great innovation, but too many are either still bought into the past's propaganda or unable/willing to try to fix the mistakes of our grandfather's. Even when we want to change its always expensive and political (politics will have people take a stance they know is wrong just so they can oppose their enemies, i hate politics)

[@saratemp790]

That's because city planning is done in US by local politicians. And their biggest concern is raising tax dollars and more jobs for the poor. Strip malls do that fast. But they are short sighted, because creating beauty will grow the wealth of a town, long term.

[@blubaughmr]

@@saratemp790 In my experience , local politicians' top priority is keeping the NIMBYs happy. As the Strong Towns videos (and some on this channel) show, strip malls generate a lot less tax revenue per acre than traditional downtown blocks.

[@saratemp790]

@@blubaughmr Yes but strip malls are faster and easier to build. Building downtown blocks takes years of planning and coordination.

[@rogink]

Yes. I'm a child of the 70s and America was still seen as the future then. But now it seems stuck in the past. They spent all that effort to keep out socialism, but have ended up with planning laws that would make Brezhnev blush :)

[@SHEAdTeeVee]

I live a block from the quince street. You can actually find a LOT more of these small street networks scattered through the immediate neighborhood if you know where to go. A lot of car free alleys, and pedestrian only walkways and courtyards.

[@mushroomsteve]

Eugene, Oregon has wonderful narrow alleyways all over the city, many of them with houses that have entrances on the alleyway, and some with cafes and restaurants. We also have some neighborhoods with very narrow residential streets that are barely more than two car widths wide. The houses come right up to the street with a carport underneath and stone walls with ornamental plants next to the sidewalk. Gardens everywhere. It has an incredibly European vibe.

[@cahaley89]

Great video. I lived in Philadelphia for two years. There wasn't a weekend that I didn't park and walk around the city. The distance it takes to walk to many places is not far. I live outside the city and still find myself going up every once in a while.

[@Maxime_K-G]

I started seriously thinking about this concept of small streets after visiting the Schnoor in Bremen. It's a tiny medieval district and even though it's less than 1/4th the size of your average Walmart parking lot it feels big because of the many narrow streets and shops there. The small houses there, especially those on the quieter, less busy sidestreets seem wonderful to live in. Other honorable narrow-street mentions in my city of Leuven: - Area around Jozef Vounckplein - Mussenstraat - Lindensestraat Also, any place that used to be a beguinage. Just look up "placename" + Begijnhof for any town in Belgium and you're bound to come across some amazing neighborhoods. Those nuns really had their urbanism game down...

[@Zm4rf]

citynerd and city beatiful dropped videos on the same day hell ya

[@soundscape26]

City Nerd makes me sleep. He's the Bob Ross of urbanism.

[@leowalker9031]

I love this idea. Fort Wayne Indiana has been doing this for a few years by turning its allys into pedestrian walkways and outdoor seating which makes it easier to cut through blocks.

[@een_schildpad]

Fort Wayne and South bend have been doing some really cool stuff lately in that way!

[@AxisXY]

Obviously the narrow streets of Philly (some are only six feet wide) were built before cars. To accommodate trash pickup, the city has specialized miniature garbage trucks which fit down many (but not all) of the narrower streets. I live in South Philly and walk the small narrow streets between me and Center City all the time. It is one of my absolute favorite things about Philly's charm.

[@thedolcetto81]

As someone who was born and grew up in Rome, traffic and parking issues are extremely prevalent and very hard to solve. So much so that a friend of mine who used to live near the Tiburtina area used to spend about half an hour circling the block where her apartment was to find a parking spot. This is to say that if we want to create neighbourhoods with smaller streets we also have to create fast and reliable public transport, something that is clearly missing in Rome and surrounding areas.

[@JohnPrepuce]

Ask your friend if she would prefer decent mass transit, or a free designated parking space near her apartment with non-congested roads. The vast majority of Americans choose the latter.

[@laurencefraser]

@@JohnPrepuce ... and how's that 'non-congested roads' thing going?

[@Phalaenopsisify]

It's been a while since I visited Rome but doesn't the city have a modern underground system? Despite the system people seem to want to drive in a very congested city.

[@JohnPrepuce]

laurencefraser - actually not too bad in most places. Even in the places where it's most congested, people still choose to use automobiles instead of mass transit. New York has the best mass transit in the US and the streets are far from empty. That means that people really want the freedom of the car and more emphasis should be placed on how to make driving more convenient and safe. Many (not all) of those commuters on the subway would choose the car if it was more convenient; instead they are forced into a situation that is not really what they want.

[@rexx9496]

@@JohnPrepuce When a population hits a certain tipping point, you cannot avoid traffic congestion and at that point only better public transit is going to solve the mobility problem. Having non-congested roads in a city of millions of people like Rome or NYC is a fever dream. If you want to drive everywhere and never deal with traffic then move to the countryside. It's also interesting how Americans are so conditioned to be afraid to be around other people and have to be in a car to do everything. Last summer I spent 3 months traveling across Europe. No car. Just a rail pass and using bikes, metro, buses, trains and yes even an occasional Uber here and there when needed. Never felt so free. No worrying about parking, not even knowing or caring what the gas prices are. In some places like Switzerland public transit is so clean you can damn near eat off the floor of their trains. And super efficient too. Experiencing Europe just taught me that there is a whole other way to exist than this car-centric way of life in the US. And then the whole isolation and lack of community that comes American style suburbanization. Nothing compares to walking the narrow alleys of Nice, Milan, Croatia seeing friends and families eating outside on a summer night, on pedestrian only streets. Plazas around water fountains filled with musicians, lovers, people enjoying themselves. That's just something beautiful we don't have in this country because of the way we designed our cities around cars. All because the auto industry lobbied government to build freeways and tear up public transit so that they could profit.

[@ljtinney]

Waverly St, Addison St, Panama St, are some of my favorite smaller streets in Philadelphia. There are honestly too many if you're looking in greater Center City Philadelphia. There are even some random traditional English Villages. The one that comes to mind is St. James Place. There are lots of these seemingly random, yet quaint pockets of European influence that you would absolutely miss if you were driving through. But you'll stumble on them as a pedestrian & it's such a joyous surprise. Great video.

[@averyshaw2142]

Another thing you kind of mentioned was size of vehicle. If you do need a personal vehicle in a European city like Rome, it will be small, like a moped or a small sedan. In an American city many people own gigantic SUVs and pickup trucks that take up a ridiculous amount of space and require larger parking

[@JesusManera]

The majority of people who own giant SUVs and pickup trucks have no practical need for them, the proof of that is that families are no bigger than they were 20 years ago but 20 years ago the vehicles were much smaller. Perhaps making it harder to own SUVs and pickup trucks would change people's choices to more sensible vehicles. But then again, the reason the US has such poor planning codes is because of the influence of the auto industry, the same industry brainwashing people into buying those idiotic vehicles, so that's unlikely to happen.

[@matsv201]

I don't know when you where in Europe last, but today pretty much everyone have a suv

[@denalisiomontpellier4064]

except for europe, japan, bangladesh and very few other coutnries, the rest of the world drive larger vehicles than the one you see in Rome, on overage.

[@meneither3834]

​@@matsv201 That's just wrong, sedans still rule in most of Europe. Crossovers are what's really frowing but those aren't SUV.

[@rjfaber1991]

@@meneither3834 You are also somewhat wrong though. Saloons and estates are more popular here than they are in North America, sure, but hatchbacks really form the backbone of the collective vehicle fleet of any European country, even as crossovers have become more popular. And let's be honest, a lot of crossovers are based on hatchbacks anyway, and while their styling might make them look a bit like SUVs, their height and ground clearance are often almost identical to those of a typical hatchback.

[@Pelsjager]

It's hard to compare the size of blocks, since the whole concept of a 'city block' isn't that common in non-gridded European cities

[@joemacleod-iredale2888]

‘Block’ is not a concept in the UK, we think in terms of the streets rather than the parcels of land.

[@matsv201]

It depends. There does exist cities in Europe that was built in the 1800s. Those often got grid like blocks. For example the town i live in is a perfect example. It was a tiny village before the railroad. Then it expanded to 10 times thensize during the late 19 century, with city blocks very simular to those in the US, here the blocks are 180x100 meters (Well, some have become super blocks and some have been cut up) So downtown there is a smal area with narrow old streets... there are like 3 of the .then around that area there is about give or take 100 blocks, most 180x80 meters. The on the outside of that there is more blocks but in more iregular patterns. And out side of that there is suburbian areas built in the 1860s with commi block still and then outside of that there is villa zoning. What people in the us call suburbs. Built mostly between 1950 and 1990. Those areas are ieegular by design. The villas built after 2000 are mostly built in villages out side of the town.

[@candlelightman653]

I'll also add that on the ground level, walking in salt lake, the sidewalk is a narrow, broken concrete path right next to very fast, loud, smelly traffic, with no cover from the baking desert sun, and NO cars watch for pedestrians, even when turning right on red. Your life is in your own hands as a pedestrian in SLC.

[@wolfythewolf4457]

Philadelpian here, and loved the video by the way, Philadelphia should be recognized more often. But there are some important things in your video I would like to point out. I just commented this under another comment, but the reason why Elfreth's Alley is a tourist attraction is because it is the *oldest residential street in the United States* and not because it's "out of context in a modern American city" (The plaque states at 3:54, the collection is exceptional, [because the buildings are extremely well preserved]). Quince street and the others you mentioned "...They're found all over historic Philadelphia..." is a glaringly obvious example of why Elfreths Alley's existence isn't at all odd in Philadelphia itself. Another small nitpick is the fact that you mentioned how affordable they were. They're not, size has nothing to do with it. Most houses in that area are fairly expensive, that's all. Sorry for this long comment, I'm not hating on the video at all, I did say I loved it, but I wouldn't want any misleading information to be put out. On your next visit to Philly, you should go up to the Wissahickon and other neighborhoods in northwest Philly to check out some amazing historical buildings, sights and streets. In addition to NW, there's still amazing networks of side streets within blocks in South Philadelphia as well!

[@jec9050]

Yes I hope CityBeautiful does a video on Northwest Philly soon!

[@Camie.in.Philly]

Fellow Philadelphian here. I totally agree with you. Germantown is a perfect example of one urban area of the city of with very tiny streets. They almost mimic Elfreth Alley. Heck, on many of our streets you can only Park on one side or on the sidewalk itself. In some areas of South Philadelphia lay park in the middle of the street. The limited amount of parking causes a lot of headaches though. Especially in the wintertime. Some areas you have to park blocks away or fight for parking spot everyday. Although everyone says they would love to live in areas where they can walk to work that isn't the reality of America. Most of us live in these smaller neighborhoods and work somewhere on the other side Uptown, forcing us to have to drive. And let's face it, SEPTA is not the best always a good alternative when the routes they take are not always through the safest neighborhoods. I love my city. The smaller neighborhoods really give you a sense of community. It's really easy to get to know your neighbors and everyone has they're adopted onto your uncle that runs the corner store. But, as with all major cities in America, some that are even larger in population than some European countries, there is shoes that come with living in one. Overpopulation, is just one of them.

[@WilliamRayner3]

When he said affordable, I thought he was just saying in comparison to most big cities. I live in DC now and those trinity homes would probably be triple the price here if not more. Philly is affordable for east coast and is a reason why it has started becoming attractive to millennials and gen z.

[@HessianHunter]

​@@Camie.in.Philly I live in north Philly car-free and can't imagine doing it any other way. I actually think we shoot ourselves in the foot by not leaning harder into being a rare old-school city in the US. We should prioritize transit above cars, including putting a dedicated bus lanes on Germantown Ave. The 23 is more popular than any trolley line but gets delayed like crazy. The more we prioritize Septa and the more people ride it, the better and safer it gets.

[@wolfythewolf4457]

@@WilliamRayner3 Ah, okay that makes far more sense on a larger scale, you're right. I think I misunderstood in what context he was talking about it in.

[@Robbedem]

For those wondering: yes, Italians can and will drive cars through streets like seen on screen at 10:40

[@Micg51]

I was in Portugal a few months ago and saw cars making 90 degree turns on streets this width. Crazy.

[@SomeGuyWhoPlaysGames333]

I know cars are smaller in Europe, but even then, how could almost any of them fit through, apart from microcars and maybe sub-compact cars.

[@captainnermy5608]

Definitely true in Greece as well. I saw vehicles go down streets so narrow they had only inches to spare on either side.

[@renatoteixeira8204]

@@SomeGuyWhoPlaysGames333 when you know the size of your car it's easy and you do it without sensors. There is no need for a microcar just normal european car

[@josepheridu3322]

I had that experience in San Juan. It was traumatic.

[@gregwilliams386]

I remember in Paris that our toilet fed a grinder that puree'd the contents and squirted the fluid into the building's rain gutter which ran to the storm drain. In Belgium they don't bury their dry utilities except gas. So Electric, phone, cable and now probably fiber are attached to the face of the buildings, and feed from house to house.

[@AaronSmith-sx4ez]

The Worth Ave shopping district in West Palm Beach (where billionaires shop) has these intentionally narrow streets between the shops and it's really cool. Streets (and offsets) are too wide in the US resulting in huge wasted space. IMO one great solution for narrow streets is more one-way roads. The road itself can be narrower as well as shoulder parking. One way roads allow for traffic light syncing and eliminate slow/dangerous cross traffic turns. Another trick we can borrow from Europe is more triangular street blocks (like Paris). This provides more surface area per block and makes it easier to access a block using bike or public transit.

[@colechapman6976]

The one thing I found to be lovely in Philly was all the trees in Society Hill. It was so cool in the summer. The cherry trees blooming in the spring were a sight to see as well. Coupled with colonial and federal-style apartments, good cafes, and a quietness that comes with tight streets as cars can't go as fast, it was overall a really relaxing city feel. I visited Fitler Square, Northern Liberties, Old City, and Society Hill often on my travels and it's a great area of the US. You truly feel like you are in England or Europe. When I studied abroad, I was struck by how the downtown area of my fairly big college town of Canterbury felt more like Philly in a lot of ways. Tight roads, buildings that are short, and trees

[@joost00555]

Another reason, especially if you are comparing with Italy I think, that they can handle small streets with parking is that Europe has way smaller cars.

[@zino274]

What I don't understand is that super wide roads like in city like Salt Lake have so much potential: there's room for bike lanes, pavements with benches and greenery, trees, bus/tram lines, etc.. But instead they're mostly for cars.The city is already built like that, but there's no reason not to give give the streets a good make-over.

[@BattleCheese2]

The whole "Small streets in chunks in between sections of big streets" you mention right before the bike bell is extremely common in Japanese and Korean cities, at least. So it definitley works very well indeed.

[@samfincher9434]

1:11 Another thing about why the streets are so wide: Brigham Young wanted a team of oxen to be able to do a U-turn without having to back up. This was because, as the story goes, he didn't want the drivers to resort to curses when backing up the oxen.

[@PlanetAstronox]

I actually live in Philadelphia in a block like the one with Quince Street. It's very nice. One of the streets is wide enough for car traffic, and the other three are pedestrian only (though that doesn't stop some people from trying to drive down them anyway). I also go rid of my car after I moved in, so I don't need to worry about the lack of parking, but I used to have a parking lot that was a 15 minute walk away. I'd share the name of my street so other people can look at it, but I'd rather not dox myself.

[@realityblooms]

Hey I live in Philly close to Elfreths alley. This city, center city is particular is really charming. The crime and such is much much more north, so I encourage everyone to come and visit. We have a lot to work on but neighborhoods like gayborgood, queen village, and old town really are something magical

[@glypnir]

The elephant in the narrow street is mentioned once - public transit. To get these narrow streets to work, most people can’t be driving. Paris, for example continues to make huge investments in the metro. London continues to invest and also has congestion charges to discourage car use. I believe Munich has a huge underground automotive infrastructure so it has the look of an older city but with some of the convenience of a car based one. Shinjuku has the fascinating aspect of sterile wide empty streets in spots, but with vibrant life on narrow pedestrian streets underground.

[@DoiInthanon1897]

Yep. The dependency of personal vehicles in the US is a large reason why this won't be an easy idea to implement.

[@chrisr.6638]

I will never use public transport in any capacity, the entire idea is ridiculous. Who wants to be a slave to a timetable and surrounded by disgusting general public. Had enough of that in high school. Never going back

[@glypnir]

@@chrisr.6638 that’s a pretty absolute statement. I guess you can drive to anywhere north of the Darien Gap, or take a private plane, but the time for driving or the money for the private plane could be a bit much. The schedule and general public thing are relative. I recommend Tokyo, not during rush hour. The general public are remarkably clean and polite, and many trains run frequently enough that schedule is irrelevant. Driving can be really annoying too. You’re still with the general public and now they have thousands of pounds of juggernaut of death under their control. And you can all crawl slowly along without a reliable schedule. In Japan, you can have a long journey with no need to pad the schedule much at all. If it’s all trains, timing is very precise and reliable. With cars, especially in places like LA, not so much.

[@chrisr.6638]

@@glypnir The Japanese are a high IQ society and known worldwide for behaving well in public. Not the case in europe or the states or anywhere else. Even then, you're dealing with being locked in the trains like a sardine in rush hour. With cars, yes you're dealing with low IQ's surrounding you everywhere, but at least no ones breathing on the back of your neck. Again I get off my driveway and go wherever I want, not being reliant on some public time schedule. I do big groceries for the week, amount I would never be able to carry by myself, no matter how close the store is. I'm in Europe, which is supposedly a leftist wet dream in terms of public transport, but I will never use it. There's a reason cars became popular, leftists are just looking for a new religion, doesn't matter if it makes sense or not. Also anyone above 30 wants to live in a house with a garden. You snap out of the desire of living in flats and crowded places as you age

[@Shadowninja1200]

​@@chrisr.6638 Imagine taking your experience in high school and applying that to other areas of your life. People would rightly call you a fool. Look at other places that do public transit well and recognize that relying on a "timetable" is pretty much non existent. As for your "disgusting general public" comment: You need to get out more and see people less as enemies. Places that cares about good service will keep it clean and pleasant.

[@mattmcmillenutube]

My wife and I lived at 11th and Irving on the same block as Quince St. in Philly for a while. We moved in having no idea that this incredible neighborhood was right behind us! I used to love walking our dog there and exploring these type of historic streets. I worked in the suburbs and took the bus or train and parked my car either a few blocks away or left it at my office. Love your videos, especially this one since you stumbled upon the same amazing place I did years ago.

[@mrbutch308]

I'm from Philadelphia and I am proud of the historic character and walkability of my city. I read recently that Philly is in fact the most walkable city in the US.

[@phillygrunt2154]

Our suburbs are more urban and walkable then sunbelt cities

[@waywardgeologist2520]

How bikeable is the city?

[@phillygrunt2154]

@@waywardgeologist2520 extremely? It was built way way way before the car. Now most normal Philadelphians don’t give a flying fuck about the cyclist & would run u over and keep driving but I digress.

[@neffyg35]

​@@phillygrunt2154as a fellow philadelphian I agree lol

[@neffyg35]

​@@waywardgeologist2520we do have lots of bike lanes and they are starting to do protected bike lanes where the cars park on the other side so you between the sidewalk and parked cars

[@steemlenn8797]

If you want to see really small streets, watch one of Cory May's "getting lost in..." videos where he walks through Tokyo, e.g. starting at Shinjuku Station (the worlds busiest train station) and after 15 minutes he is in alleys where you can sometimes touch both sides.

[@jasonschubert6828]

This design is common in Tokyo, where neighbourhoods are created often with a few small shops in the middle so people can go about much of their business without even leaving the area. Sadly where I live (Richmond, Victoria, Australia) similar style blocks no longer have any shops (milk bars we used to call them), so the small streets are often littered with parked cars that people used to drive to the nearest shopping centre.

[@JesusManera]

Compared to the US though, Richmond is incredibly walkable. You could walk to Swan St, Bridge Rd or Victoria St from pretty much anywhere in the suburb and have a lot available, not to mention the amazing public transport links there with trams on all 3 of those roads, plus Church St, 4 train stations and literally half the city's lines running through Richmond Station!

[@bearcubdaycare]

I was in Oslo a couple of months for a project, and put up in a campus of condos built atop a block size parking garage. That allowed cars, but also made a human scale neighborhood of buildings above. Since the garage was built a bit into the ground, one could walk out from the campus to the surrounding streets some places.

[@plangineer1375]

I hope most viewers noticed that the American city examples with "big blocks" and "wide streets" were developed BEFORE the automobile. European cities developed when walking was the only option for the vast percentage of city residents. By the time of Colonial American development (including the Spanish founded cities) a much larger percentage of city residents relied on horse-based travel. Horses and associated wagons required more street space - and room to house them in the back of the property. That is a key reason American blocks were larger. Plus, America was a big country with more space between settlements.

[@laurencefraser]

Oddly enough, horses and wagons were very common in Britain in a similar time period. The wagons just tended to be smaller and require less animals to pull them. The result? Perfectly compatible with most streets and roads of the time (and, of course, there were the trains...)

[@ZackScriven]

I live in Salt Lake City. We are working on mid block crossings and more walkable road design and bike friendly paths

[@ncubesays]

Wider streets do not always imply bad urban design. My city, Bulawayo (you may have heard of it), has wide streets also designed for ox-drawn carriages U-turns and actually has a great urban walking experience. Inner city traffic speed in slowed down in natural ways (e.g. over street drainage gulleys at gentle angles act as speed humps on each block).

[@lampshade1304]

Where I'm from in Melbourne aus has fairly wide streets (mostly 20m judging from maps) and is highly walkable. I remember hearing the ox-drawn thing as well but can't find any confirmation. Similarly to Philadelphia, we have a ton of laneways and "little" streets that break up larger blocks. There are some places that have their entrances in the little streets (essentially single lane) but they also provide back entrances meaning that pedestrians can walk around on the main streets without double-checking driveways. The streets are almost all one lane either side (idk how to describe this since it's so walkable I haven't learned how to drive) with room for a footpath, street trees, street parking, median strips and/or tram tracks. We definitely still have some stroads but it's so clear that width isn't the sole issue.

[@Bolognabeef]

Buluwayo like every city in Zimbabwe was built by the British to be car friendly and fast to expand so shouldn't it be closer to American cities?

[@ncubesays]

@@Bolognabeef That's exactly my point. The wide streets use traffic calming measures which make it safer for walking.

[@nickstahl6672]

One of the most striking memories I have about getting around in Canada was when I biked to the mall and needed to hop across the street to grab something from Home Depot. There simply was no way to cross the street safely except in a car. There is a similar place here where I live in Germany. There are pedestrian crossings everywhere and you can get there by bus and just walk to the different stores. I have never owned a car in my life and am happily using public transport and my bike. I've recently started a subscription to a car share service and use it almost exclusively for grocery shopping. In a well designed city - and that includes public transport - many people simply won't need a car.

[@barryrobbins7694]

If blocks have small plazas or parklets (trees not parking) in the center, it would allow access for emergency services - plus make for a cozy neighborhood.

[@sheridanlugo8967]

Funny enough, in my city in LA county one of my favorite streets is actually the alleyway behind my apartment. It's a narrow street with not much going on and all the apartments are fenced off, but I like seeing the trees and clotheslines and other "living" things poking over the edge. I also like the untamed plants that grow in the gutters. It's not beautiful in a traditional sense, but it is weirdly cosy and I wish more places were built with narrow entrances, not just narrow alleys.

[@ab-tf5fl]

In suburban environments, one easy way to start is to build pedestrian paths so that the dead-ends for cars go through for pedestrians. In many cases, this is simply a matter of buying a few square feet of yard space from a homeowner to make room for a path and moving the fence.

[@Dehydratedpencil]

Well it's not particularly easy then, what if the homeowner doesn't want to sell you the yard space?

[@lucasnelson2583]

I grew up on the Philadelphia's "Main Line" in a neighborhood called Ardmore, about twenty minutes' train ride west of Philadelphia. I say "train" because the Main Line grew organically out of the city center during the Gilded Age when wealthy business magnates built huge, sprawling mansions along the newly-built "Main Line," now the Paoli-Thorndale line (which thousands of people still take for their daily commute into Philly). Workers had to come along to service these multi-millionaire families, so dense neighborhoods like Ardmore were built to house them in close proximity to the train stations. Ardmore managed to save its historic downtown from a drastic redevelopment plan in the 80s and is now seeing-surprise-a boom in high-density luxury condo construction as the neighborhood gets gentrified. It's interesting to see how the same wealthy developers who sign contracts for big box stores and soulless suburban developments somehow always manage to find their way into the very neighborhoods they tear down to get richer. It's the same story all over the U.S. and Canada.

[@DuncanAdkins]

When I visited Philly, I was walking around Old Town and saw an old man admiring the buildings. Meanwhile, someone in an Audi SUV was waiting to turn down the alley the old man was blocking, which looked just big enough for a vespa! Where there's a will (and desire to drive), there's a way

[@RipCityBassWorks]

Portland would be perfect for this: 1. Small block size. 2. No parking minimums. 3. Legalized missing middle housing. 4. Plenty of underused parking lots around the central city that could be developed.

[@saratemp790]

They just built a walkable area in downtown Alpharetta Georgia, outside Atlanta. Its small but cute. Made to look old style. They have some old style brick apartment buildings with the parking disguised in the center of the building. Which is cool. They should make more of these areas, but bigger. Edit- btw dont confuse this area with the new large lifestyle center nearby, they just built there.

[@wwsciffsww3748]

There's also a development in Southwest Atlanta called Murphy's crossing that is designed for car-free living with narrow streets and close proximity to heavy rail

[@karlahovde]

Thanks for the suggestion about the Quince St area! I just happened to be in Philadelphia and went to explore it and nearby Hutchinson St, and it was such a delightful experience! What I wouldn't give to be able to live on a street like this in my city.

[@jameskennedy7093]

Since I complained in the comments I do think I owe you a positive comment, which is that I’m glad to see Philadelphia’s tiny streets highlighted. And the nice thing is those tiny street networks pop up all over the city where you least expect it, not just Center City, because although Center City is the historic root of Philadelphia the city, Philadelphia County (now the city coterminous) had all kinds of older towns and satellite cities that were absorbed into the fabric and brought with them their tiny streets. I personally feel like if a coty doesn’t have hundreds of blocks where a person can lay their nody on both sidewalks at once, it’s barely deserving of the title city.

[@babbaganush9659]

There’s a lot of these neighborhoods in the northeast, in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and all of the smaller cities in between, especially in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Trenton has a very classic one in the Mill Hill section.

[@gabrielrfg4852]

Really big fan of the channel and overall message. Something I'd love to see is a video about European suburbs. Being european and a really big fan of walkable and cyclable city planning it pains me to see that pretty much every suburb here is basically an american one but with tall buildings, which is arguably the worst of both worlds.

[@saturnsandjupiters358]

Well at least the tall buildings mean the density's not rock bottom, so public transport is still somewhat viable

[@Urbanhandyman]

True. Europe has millions of citizens living in a manner the average American would find familiar. At least you have options. We really don't.

[@CJ_Walks]

Mind if I ask what country or an example suburb for reference?

[@enricozetti]

@@Urbanhandyman hmm, I'm from Italy and have been in the US some times in New York, Chigago, Los Angeles and some other places.. In Italy i think we don't have almost anything close to the US suburbs way of living (in both what's good and bad). We do have suburbs and a problem with sprawl especially considering that the pressure of population density on the plains is very high but it's a different kind of sprawl and way of living. For example a problem here is the disorganized development of many manufacturing activities and some residential areas that are very often consuming the cultivated land in a patchwork that is very inefficient and consumes the available space.. I'd say scale is also a huge factor since here most of the people live in cities that to US standards would be very small. Milano, Rome and Napoli are the largest metropolitan areas and together would sum to about half the population of New york.. This means that very often people living in our suburbs have a different kind of life and set of problems.. Most of our suburbs are still at bike distance from the city center (i live near one edge of my city and it takes me less than 20 min to reach the cathedral by bike) but are very often lacking bike infrastructure etc. suburbs are also often very busy and chaotic and can be pretty dense to the contrary of many US suburbs where you have that quiet, peaceful vibe with little houses and large gardens. single family houses are only really common in the countryside. Then, of course, European countries have many differences on this regard.. London suburbs can be somewhat similar to the US ones..

[@Urbanhandyman]

@@enricozetti I agree with you. I'm referring more to density and car dependence than the actual physical architecture with large green lawns in the front. There are many areas of Spain, France and England that are built that way, but with brick, less parking, smaller lots, etc. Overall though it reminds me of older Americans suburbs. That type was built between 1900 and 1940. Ultimately, Europe offers far more variety than in the U.S. no matter the housing type.

[@nighthawk8412]

The requirement for spacing homes out is also out of concern for how fires spread. The closer homes and buildings are the easier it is for a fire to spread from one home or building to another and eventually an entire city. Of course window placement and building materials play a huge factor, but so does proximity.

[@universenerdd]

"We here in the states would love the opportunity to have even a small taste in what you have in places like London" dont include me into this...

[@jamesbeanmachine857]

those old neighbourhoods and trinity houses are beautiful I haven't seen anything like those houses here in europe

[@buckyhermit]

As a wheelchair user, I'd also point out that the streets would need to be smooth for wheelchairs as well. The ones pictured wouldn't work.

[@CityBeautiful]

Yeah, cobblestones are no good.

[@KirbyComicsVids]

one thing I find missing in the discussion of parking is simply having the block surrounded by buildings with parking space in the middle accessible by an entryway, I saw this kind of development everywhere when I was in Berlin

[@saratemp790]

Yes take advantage of the middle of the block, where there is less light, for parking.

[@tyleranderson4852]

Of course we can build similar neighborhoods. The real problem is actually finding the demand for them. I believe that they would need to be very well connected to easily accessible nearby parking structures, dedicated to those neighborhoods and also have a much more convenient link to other transportation systems. The problem is that very few people actually enjoy living in such small spaces for very long . Even European cities don’t have the majority of their residents living in the neighborhoods like this , bc people do not want that long term. Its easy to look at select European cities, and then find the very small parts of those cites and say look how great it looks and runs, but the reality it that its very rare to see any city that has been able to sustain itself to those same levels city wide. The best thing is to understand what people like in the suburbs for instance, and then find ways to connect them with the larger city in ways they can actually use everyday , and not keep trying to force a square into a circle so to speak.

[@derradfahrer5029]

Regarding parking: You could also build a (private) subterranean parking garage underneath the entrie block, with one or more entrances toward a bigger road, and multiple multistory apartment houses / condos on top. If nobody tells you, you would not know that you are walking on top of a roof - with pathways, lawn, benches, shrubs and trees! This is is been build in germany a lot right now. HafenCity in Hamburg for example.

[@ravennightingale1260]

"Can the US build cities that aren't car-centric dystopias?" Yes, of course, obviously we CAN. Will we? No.

[@itsJoshW]

To be entirely correct with you: No city is a car centric dystopia. You're living in a suburb, or further off from civilization, if you think you're requiring a car to get to places. Moreover, the push and narrative around this is a bit ironic -- cars are the least dystopian principle of the construct. Imagine not being able to flee from a situation because you are incapable of leaving due to the lack of actual transportation that isn't directly, and publicly, known? That's dystopian. I can't imagine anything worse than getting in trouble with the wrong crowd, and trying to flee but they know the exact route I would take since, of course, the public method of transport are default and not tailored to individual needs, thus I'll always be in the favor of those in power, rather than those without it. What people need to understand is that if vehicles were never invented, absolutely nothing you have today would exist. There was a direct reason why the Internet advanced society the way it did -- and why we use to call it the "Information Super Highway" -- Because society only advanced so fast, in technological sense, due to the invention of the vehicle and telephone. And we advanced technology even further due to the invention of the personal computer and internet. Imagine if tomorrow, your favorite critical youtuber claims that the internet fosters societal issues and the real issue is people not being able to stumble upon websites on their own anymore, and the use of the "Address bar" promotes the same websites to have hefty traffic while smaller ones to have less, thus less people are 'surfing the web', and in doing so it directly impacts the capability of free thought and personal expression -- and creates a reliance and dependency on Facebook, Twitter, and whatever bonkers platform our former crazy convict President is on? Imagine their solution was to "Remove the address bar, like the Dark Web, And then letting the decency being on user indexed websites", and they claim the opposite is dystopian. Is it actually dystopian? Or is it that their capability of framing it in a specified way makes it seem like it is, when in reality it just removes convenience with 'option' for 'forced option' all because websites with less traffic are not being visited as frequent? A large quantity of people that believe "walking is not viable" are literally told this because they never had to walk a day in their life to work. They were never provided a life where they never had a car, and they lived in remote locations; They never actually lived a life of a common individual. They're wealthy neo-liberals that pretentiously think they're liberal. When, in reality -- It doesn't fix the systemic issues, but it reinforces the systemic issues and masks them behind propaganda and framing in order for us to not understand why "that didn't fix it". The solution to the environment is a removal of dependency from crude oil to another liquid combustion substance or perpetual motion to obtain electricity that can power the whole globe (an impossible feat). The solution here had already been found, but everyone ignores it and no one provides it funding simply because this is a capitalists world, and the capitalists who own crude oil, and have profits within this section, are in control of various Government bodies. The solution would provide the capability of everyone to obtain their own renewable, and otherwise open market, fuel: Ethanol. (Currently Flex Fuel, as the principle behind combustion still requires gasoline, however it's a matter of time before a breakthrough occurs where pure alcohol from Corn can obtain combustion). Can you guess why no capitalist looks toward this solution? It's the same reason people didn't want legalized Marijuana unless there was a direct control of it from the Tabaco companies -- Because a capitalist with power and wealth will try to always hold onto, maintain, and never allow anyone besides themselves to seize control of this wealth, and the more competition the less likely they'll continue to grow said wealth. But don't take my word for it, there's numerous actual articles from Government websites that provide clear answers here lol. Plus, let's be completely honest: Your electric company is owned by a gasoline company (No, really, look it up, I'll put a large gamble that it is, since over 95% of them in the globe are partnered or owned by Gasoline companies).

[@rambo8wradio]

Funny thing is, in Republic period carts were not allowed in Rome. Ancient city was build organically for pedestrians. It was ages ago, but many modern roads follow the old layout.

[@ArchOfWinter]

If there's a small space in the middle too far for fire/rescue, then leave that little area empty and use it a like a little community park for all residents.

[@ravenfeeder1892]

That would be my solution as well. Or you could have the access road get to your little square, but only from one direction so there's no though traffic but the fire trucks can still bet to where they need to.

[@nickberry5520]

I would suggest a access road with moveable barriers as another possibility

[@almerindaromeira8352]

My solution would be to leave the boat on wheels at the fire station for starters and get a normal firetruck, found anywhere else in the world, with a with of 2,55 m.

[@riroo8275]

I once had a friend who lived on the block of Quince Street that this video spotlights. I even saw their front door in a couple of shots! It's worth remembering too that in Philly even the wide streets aren't all that wide (about 50 feet) and cars can't move very quick there so it's easy and indeed pleasant to follow narrow streets all the way from Jefferson University down to Washington Avenue in South Philly before you're blocked by a truly wide stroad. Looking at the discussion of the fire code it would also be perfectly reasonable to create a small central plaza at the heart of the block where the fire trucks can't reach. Above and beyond the planning and zoning issues too there is the legal framework problem. America's legal framework incentivizes 5-over-1s because blocks in newer neighborhoods are usually simply sold wholesale to single developers. A legal framework that instead prioritizes subdividing blocks into the smallest buildable parcels and then sells each parcel to a smaller developer to build on would yield the best results IMO. Japan yields excellent results with a similar framework.

[@definitelynotacrab7651]

Between you and alan fischer, im becoming a part of the Philadelphia is great cult. Its depressing to see how wide salt lakes streets are, so much wasted space. Great video!

[@joedavenport5293]

I recently moved to Pittsburgh from Orlando and OMG! I love how walkable Pittsburgh is, especially when the weather is nice

[@PhoenixAura81]

I go to college in Philadelphia, and even when I go there to visit, Old City is one of my favorite parts of it. I've been getting into city planning for a while now, and I appreciate many European cities for their walkability, sustainability, and that they look interesting and retain their cultural heritage (I also used to think that those old buildings should be replaced with skyscrapers to make them look like proper cities; thank god my mentality changed). Good thing Old City is one of the oldest parts of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania, so it still looks very European (or maybe just British). It also helps that a friend I had in high school lives there, and it was great to see it when I went there for sleepovers. I really like the neighborhood of Chestnut Hill for the same reasons.

[@southpond]

Chestnut Hill is very popular with Brit expats because of the similarity in housing stock to the UK!!

[@jacobwood1707]

I live in one of these streets in Philly, and I do not own a car at all. I walk to work, use the subway for my groceries, and walk to my doctor's and also my dentist. There's a dollar tree within walking distance that I use frequently as well. Plus, when I want to go shopping for fun stuff like clothes and video games, I am within walking distance from Walnut Street, Chestnut Street (where a lot of clothes stores are like Old Navy) and the Fashion District (which is a mall in Center City). Everything is super convenient, and I live on the cheap too! It's nice only paying $20 each month for transportation costs.

[@beachboardfan9544]

Why would they??? Every time you need to do something to repair your home it'll cost 10x as much as normal because you cant get common equipment into the areas to do the work so now it all has to be done manually by hand with ladders and shovels instead of conventional industry equipment. Most contractors and craftsman avoid city centers as is because of the difficulty and expense in doing work in those places...

[@Weavileiscool]

I personally love the super block design being implemented in Barcelona right now. The inner streets can be car free without changing much.

[@karikling6751]

I love that you based this video on my city! I tell other Americans you can have narrow streets in this country because my city has them. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't want to learn from other places.

[@simplesimon8255]

Why give them that satisfaction?

[@andypierce6593]

Old Manassas Virginia has a street like this, and it’s actually gated because evidently tourists love it so much they annoy the residents. One odd thing about townhomes is that when I see them built, it’s usually just a circle of them in the suburbs around a parking lot, with only one road in, negating most of the things that wild make a townhome desirable. I find it bizarre.

[@Athair48]

Why are crime rates always higher in these types of urban cities yet they aren't in Europe?

[@nishiljaiswal2216]

I would like to think this started after ww2 when the rich middle class started to make suburbs and left the cities to rot. This never occurred in Europe.

[@Athair48]

@@nishiljaiswal2216 I hope so, but it's also a self fulfilling cycle. The more crime the more people leave to suburbs.

[@nishiljaiswal2216]

@@Athair48 well now I think we are in a different direction, genz and millennials want to live close and in urban areas which only the core city offers and for better or for worse is causing gentrification and really revitalizing some neighborhoods

[@kasujjamarkdimitiri]

there are narrow streets everywhere in Uganda. no need for cloning things from another part of the world....... I loved that. Dmitry