Jeff Speck: The walkable city

How do we solve the problem of the suburbs? Urbanist Jeff Speck shows how we can free ourselves from dependence on the car -- which he calls "a gas-belching, time-wasting, life-threatening prosthetic device" -- by making our cities more walkable and more pleasant for more people.
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[@CiaranHudson]

Really good talk. I used to live in The Netherlands, where everyone cycles everywhere, and the people are visibly healthier than say in the UK. People are also more cordial in their interactions and apologise when they get in each other's way rather than honking the horn and unleashing a torrent of abuse as happens in cars. And it just makes cities nicer places to live instead of somewhere to commute to for work.

[@brutustantheiii8477]

The channel NotJustBikes says Hello

[@kevinpatrickcarey3741]

oh yah crime is just going to magically vanish in these ghettos lol

[@mrunfausted7746]

@@techtutorvideos you, obviously, don't live near blacks.

[@mikewade777]

@@kevinpatrickcarey3741 the crime of car noise and pollution would certainly vanish. So yes all for it.

[@elliotwilliams7421]

@@mikewade777 he said crime, it's not a crime to own a car. Deary me. Why do you all love crime and violence so much?

[@Thalassicus01]

I came across this video while binging TED talks almost a decade ago, and it was literally life-changing! I saved up money for years and moved from a Dallas suburb to Seattle. Now I can literally just go downstairs to get groceries, see my dentist, ship packages, or enjoy burgers, Thai, Italian, Mexican, and many other delicious food options. All without the expense, time, or life-threatening risk of using a car! Rent is higher, but it was balanced by no longer needing to buy, insure, or maintain a vehicle, and I'm living a happier and healthier life.

[@mattcarter4386]

I came across his first book and completely changed how I see cities and car culture. For me it was life altering.

[@blogleftbanker]

I lived in Belltown for years, then moved to urban Spain. I haven't driven a car in sixteen years! Before not driving, my car was basically a recreational vehicle because for my day-to-day needs, I didn't rely on the automobile, and that has made all the difference.

[@kushal4956]

wouldn't the same thing be achievable by moving to Downtown Dallas from suburban Dallas?

[@roshanramesh2634]

​@@kushal4956he didn't wanna live in a car dependant neighborhood sherlock...

[@allenmoody7527]

@@kushal4956 To some extent, yes, but the density just isn’t the same. I lived near downtown Dallas and my favorite thing was being able to roll out of bed and walk across the street to the grocery store. But other amenities were missing. I’m currently preparing for a move to Oakland, and then NYC after that, chasing better walkability and better transit networks.

[@TimesNuRoman]

Can't agree more. I live in Toronto and I thought it could use a lot more work to become more walkable. Then I visited Houston....

[@Superdrero]

People need to realize that having a walkable city doesn't mean you will be living in New York City, or that you will have to live under the domination of a HOA. It's not about having to walk everywhere either. Dig deeper into the topic and you will find that it would create a better situation for everyone. Creating more efficient transportation and infrastructure (less taxes), while allowing for the privacy and sense of community found in rural areas.

[@hb4609]

please share any links or sources here, im a student writing a essay on this!! :)

[@MrRoboticeyes]

@@hb4609 Hi, i'm also a student writing essay on the same topic. Some good resource you can find is the book by Jeff Speck called Walkable City (2012). There's also good 5 part articles by Vox about superblocks in Barcelona.

[@al-du6lb]

Check out Charles Marohn, Andres Duany, and Leon Krier too.

[@al-du6lb]

Check out Charles Marohn, Andres Duany, and Leon Krier too.

[@greenmachine5600]

Check out Echo Gecko on KZbin

[@DlcEnergy]

16:37 "The Americans can be counted on to do the right thing, once they've exhausted the alternatives" lol

[@DlcEnergy]

@@ricardomakai616 pathetic bots

[@destineyrosa7609]

LMFAOOO

[@gabrielleurbina7020]

I agree so much!! My family's car broke down this week so we're left without a car and it's drastically changed our daily lives this week. We literally cannot get around.

[@ypraisethesun4431]

Gabrielle Urbina haven't owned a car my entire life. It sucks, but I know I have a tiny carbon footprint on the world. Still sucks though when it rains and I have to work

[@brawlinharry6461]

I have owned a car for about a year. sold it 6 years ago. in my city, i can get anywhere i need to with my bike. borrowing a car then and now is nice, but i know i dont want to own one anytime soon.

[@theking9905]

Walkable city just means you have the option to walk to most things you need to. If you choose to make that 2 minute drive, he's not saying you should be stopped. Giving people that option itself solves most of the said problems.

[@kevinpatrickcarey3741]

really cause its happeneing already. People being fined for simply driving

[@deadpoolregeneratedegenera1683]

This was the first Ted Talk that ever spoke to me. Here I am, years later, watching this again. Ah, nostalgia...

[@roidroid]

i think he's saying that it can be cheaper to live in walkable cities. Cars are expensive to buy, maintain, insure, licence, and keep fueled. Also walking around a city is quicker than driving long-distances around express-ways (and time is money). Your location itself, and reliance on cars, may be exacerbating your financial situation. Hell, you'll even save money on medical expenses: Less car crashes means less visits to the trauma ward. And you'll be healthier in general from walking.

[@angelicaramirez5594]

exactly what I thought when I was living in Europe, I wish more people knew about the impact of walkable cities

[@heytherejoey1]

"The Geography if Nowhere" is one of the most influential books on this topic I have ever read. Thumb this comment up so more people know to read it.

[@ekanem2954]

Thanks for this

[@al-du6lb]

Of*

[@Yowzoe]

"The Geography *of* Nowhere" So true. A bit obscure. I read it 20+ years ago and it affected my worldview greatly.

[@pratikparmar8709]

It's on 69 likes and I'm not gonna change it

[@ctmdwhub]

Picked up that book from the library a week ago. So good!

[@jimmylin600]

16:45 - girl: "it's so true."

[@carsonchan5102]

When I am walking around I tend to bump into people and that makes me happy. I love the spontaneity of it

[@unvergebeneid]

Thanks for that clarification. When he said "Boston" I was like "Wow, if Boston is what qualifies as a walkable city in the US, that's a whole different idea of what that means than I had." Boston has a lot of parks which is nice. It also has some nice streets. But to get from one nice spot to the other without a car is not a pleasant experience.

[@jghothot]

I wish I lived in a walkable city.

[@umuttaskn8179]

if you think moving to turkey one of the day, you can living in Çanakkale. Çanakkale is a more more more walkable city :) Çanakkale also consists of more freedom, serenity and comfortable. Don't get me wrong, this is just advice.. I've been living in çanakkale for 4 years :)

[@samw7998]

bruh in my neighborhood there are only sidewalks directly in front of houses, and you have to cross huge roads to get to stores and stuff like bruh why no crosswalks or more sidewalks?

[@blakeweston7593]

Sydney city I looooove you

[@Creaform003]

I enjoy spending 15 - 30 minutes walking. The more able you are to drive, the more you are expected to drive. As he said, cars are now peoples prosthetics.

[@kevinpatrickcarey3741]

not everyone can walk or bike you know

[@mrunfausted7746]

Do you enjoy walking 30 minutes in black neighborhoods?

[@Creaform003]

@@mrunfausted7746 You should move.

[@mrunfausted7746]

@@Creaform003 You didn't answer the question..

[@Creaform003]

@@mrunfausted7746 screw walking I take the bus. I would not walk 30 minutes in black neighborhoods. I wouldn't even recommend you drive, you should move. Did that answer it?

[@reginaboquin1034]

We do not have a problem with walkability in Prague, Czech Republic, but as the city expands outwards, many residential areas are emerging which are not walkable and do not have any of the services needed in a well-functioning neighborhood.

[@mr.pzingerenssworldstudies8186]

Thinking of our current lockdown amidst the pandemic ... walkability for exercise has become everything to people who have no other activities and cannot go to a gym. This (among so many other things) should help serve as a wake up call.

[@williamj.dovejr.8613]

Health wise...the shutdown was the best thing to happen to me. I ate less junk food, started cooking, drinking more water than ever before, catching up on sleep and walking to combat cabin fever, and lost 90 pounds in a little over a year. I'm not going back.

[@leehayward8609]

I know this is an old talk, but he really hits the nail on the head. A cracking talk.

[@SEThatered]

I live in Stuttgart (Germany). Everything is located in a walking distance. And frankly it is far faster to go on a public transport than to drive a car here. I don't have a car, but it's not a problem for me.

[@Hurricane2k8]

And in comparison to many other cities in Germany, Stuttgart is incredibly car-centric. Have a look at Berlin or Leipzig for alternatives. These two are in no way perfect, but a car independent life there is easier there than in Stuttgart for example.

[@ac2l849]

De las mejores conferencias que he visto en TED

[@GustavoHerediaDeiters]

Excellent presentation!!! Add cycling to the equation of walkable cities and double the benefits! ;-)

[@666markd]

Fascinating talk.

[@ParaditeRs]

I am 22 and have never owned a car, in fact I have only ever driven a car twice. I have absolutely no desire to buy a car, I prefer my bike. I can get from point A to point B quickly as well as gain some exercise. The fact that I don't have to worry about gas prices is a nice bonus. I have no intention of getting a car any time soon.

[@poisonpotato1]

An area where I live has rentalable bikes, scan the barcode with your phone to unlock it, pay to ride to wherever, then lock it back, and leave it anywhere you want

[@meg2231]

AMAZING! ! BEST TED TALK EVER!!!

[@lethargic_cow]

Awesome, awesome, awesome ... The Earth needs more people like you!

[@williamj.dovejr.8613]

As a american, I want to see walkable cities and electric transportation as the new rule, not the exception in my lifetime. What a brilliant future we could have.

[@cineck]

Great speech. Thank you

[@DavidByrne85]

His two books 'Smart growth Manual' and 'Walkable City' both go into solutions and are excellent!

[@Kevin_geekgineering]

I patiently hate all highways driving, so ugly so congested so full of wasting time and money, I wish I could walk more to get to the downtown

[@ShawnRavenfire]

I'm glad someone is addressing this issue. People who don't live in northeastern Pennsylvania are always telling me to drive less and walk more, and I'm always telling them it's physically impossible for me to not drive and still have a job. I had a few temp jobs where I had to drive over an hour on the interstate to get to work every morning, and then another hour to get home. I really started to hate the inside of my car.

[@TheGeeklyWeek]

I am already advocating this.

[@sachiperez]

love the way this guy speaks!

[@saranbhatia8809]

Meaningful!

[@user-ul7ts2ov9c]

So ahead of its time.

[@psulionz87]

grew up in So Cal & Atlanta, went to college in Nashville, after college moved to Orlando. I finally moved to New York City and DC and now in Seoul Korea. NYC, DC, Seoul, I don't have a car, if I need one, I rent a car. I save so much money and don't get headaches sitting in traffic, it's great!

[@sheilawilliams1718]

Awesome!!!!

[@robertlandrum1971]

Thank you, Jeff, for coming to New Albany, Indiana on 01/16/2014. It was a pleasure listening to you and very informative. I hope you'll pass by our city by the Ohio River someday soon.

[@BoltGolf]

Good Talk!

[@slimyweasles4973]

lol, I loved the Churchill quote! :)

[@joshuabrown4952]

I like the way this guy thinks

[@johnkim7802]

+Joshua Brown Creating walkable cities and communities have been touted as the solution to many economic and social problems including obesity, pollution, traffic problems, traffic accidents, etc. And these three are some of the largest problems as well since obesity, pollution, and traffic problems are among the ten most common factors leading to most health problems and deaths. But walkable cities will not solve many problems for good since unintended consequences will arise. Firstly, the more expensive real estate costs, higher rental rates, higher living costs, and higher municipal taxes within cities lead to less disposable income for many residents and income has among the strongest correlations with mortality rates, quality of life, etc. This is perhaps my main argument in advising that the city isn't for everyone. Secondly, people surrender their autonomy by giving up their cars and then become forced to rely upon public transportation which has been shown to be very inefficient over the long run. These public transportation projects are often built using large taxpayer funding and municipal bonds which only depress the growth of city economies in the future after being a short term gain. Thirdly, I question the walkable city and correlation with obesity. It's not necessarily the walkable city curbing obesity but rather that many of the more educated and higher income classes w/ lower obesity rates live in those areas. I am not advocating for return for rural areas and actually love the city. I personally am 25 and plan to be in the cities until my 40s. Suburban areas and personal vehicles are key to better lifestyles, more freedom, and take the best of both rural and urban areas for a good compromise.

[@joshuabrown4952]

+John Kim I'm wondering how to respond without a wall of text... You are right that a lot of his statistics and research are going to be less than amazing; walkable cities aren't everywhere, and thus these areas are the product of gentrification; obesity rates will be lower, rent, taxes and real estate prices will be higher. What makes them higher is the high demand of living in such a space, and the low supply. He is suggesting that instead of building more suburbs, we make our suburbs more like cities to damage the environment less with less inefficient use of land and less time spent travelling in cars. He is not saying no one will have cars. He is not saying everyone should live in the city, but perhaps saying that suburban life is killing the environment. The video description begins with "How do we solve the problem of the suburbs?", and that is the point. Despite how much we might love living in suburbs, there is no good reason to live like that. Rural areas need land to produce that food we all eat. Urban areas are compact for a reason. We should build less suburbs.

[@joshuabrown4952]

+Joshua Brown And it should go without saying, but i'll say it anyway... If our suburban environments were far more compact, we might see a lot less of those higher living costs, rent, etc. Sorry for sounding a bit snarky, rewriting comments too many times can do that.

[@anoncrazynonevilgooddecent7631]

same

[@danieljohnson1053]

This video changed my life

[@muhilan8540]

His book changed my life

[@LucaMasters]

Side note: It turns out that air pollution is less about tailpipes as it is about tires. (With regard to asthma-related pollution, not in terms of CO2/climate.) Meaning electric cars don't fix the issues.

[@MrBlutknecht]

That's only halfway true though. While what you say is true about the tires and talipipes, electric and hybrid cars can reduce air polution from tires and breaks thanks to energy recovery systems etc. and then obviously the way you drive can magnify or reduce the effect of the energy recovery systems.

[@LucaMasters]

@@MrBlutknecht I hadn't realised this, but Google confirms it. Thanks for the correction. 🙂

[@mutantcolors]

Tis a great one. Suburban Nation though, I would rate even better (for a professional) as it comes with very nice design strategy guidelines.

[@michaeljames1585]

Yep. :) That's actually a very hard thing to think around, making a city that is less noisy.

[@slimyweasles4973]

I feel like bicycles are severely underrated in the US.... :( (Of course, I can only use mine to go places once I got to college, in an area that actually has sidewalks and where most things are close enough to bicycle to :( )

[@vHindenburg]

I do about 18.000km of cycling

[@ismirdochegal4804]

It starts with actually building roads that HAVE bikeways and walkways.

[@samw7998]

bruh in my neighborhood there are only sidewalks directly in front of houses, and you have to cross huge roads to get to stores and stuff like bruh why no crosswalks or more sidewalks?

[@prabanjanraja8108]

This guy is awesome

[@toniaha9772]

Very good talk, please keep up america, greetings from germany :-)

[@EGFritz]

He really should have spent more time on the traffic accident deaths! 40,000 people die in the US from car crashes EVERY YEAR! It's INSANE!!!

[@SukacitaYeremia]

Probabably he had a better idea by presenting that walkable cities _are_ appealing and that idea would be better than telling people that cars are dangerous. I'd be more inclined to do things that are said to make me happy than to avoid doing things that are said to be dangerous.

[@marwanhsiconsulting2184]

In Asia, Singapore and Hong Kong are some good example of a walkable yet greener cities. The mass transportation is so realiable to reach every hub, pedestrian, and crowds. Cars owning cars as the only alternate transportation to pay at surcharge.

[@gustavoalfaro7346]

good, i agreee

[@jeanette1946]

a very good talk backed by solid arguments. the closing quote by Winston Churchill was very appropriate and gave me a big laugh.

[@matthewanderson737]

Unfortunately, i've moved from Chicago, lake view neighborhood to be exact, to va beach. my walkable neighborhood improved my quality of life vastly.

[@LeonidasGGG]

Genius!!!

[@redpanda271]

PREACH

[@NikkiVelazquez]

I'm off to find every talk of his on You Tube....

[@whereeveritgoes]

The university that I used to go to isn't that far from my place but I still needed to use the car to go there. But if I were to live in Europe, I would happily cycle my way there as the cool temperature won't affect my body smell.

[@burgesskj]

not if the high-rise structures were more widely disbursed/distributed, edging or surrounding garden & park acreage. NY's mix of Central Park and the skyscrapers of Times Square are an extreme example, but there are well planned pedestrian cities all over Europe that balance high-density structures with plant life, great walkway, bicycle paths, mass transit integrated with natural wonders.

[@EllaABo]

My friend is very much into sustainable development and she's in favour of this argument. It's interesting indeed. I wonder how the Netherlands are doing with regards to the topic.

[@AdrianCarter93]

i live in a suburban city in brampton. ironically it is called david suzuki and it was built not to far from my house in an area that was once farmland. i hate suburban sprawl but i am part of it and its kinda sad

[@Iashuah]

Is true progress more of the same only more advanced? I think not! This was a very inspiring talk, however may I add that one of the most pertinent questions that must first be answered by all is.." Define the true meaning of progress?"

[@asherxs]

That's it. Moving to Portland.

[@AKAndrew]

Please note what Elle Guy states below. I moved to SE Petaluma, as I couldn't afford the West side. The stores are not as village like, but at least those shops are all within close proximity of each other. I'd love to see a better bus system over here - once an hour isn't a viable option, but would people would use them? No to further urban sprawl definitely, but yes to giving amenities within the city rather than neighbouring ones a 25min drive away.

[@eclowe6594]

I really find myself wishing I lived in a walkable city. I mean... I have sidewalks but they don't really go anywhere purposeful. Yeah. I can MAKE myself go on walks but that walk is *ONLY* for the purpose of getting out/exercising. There are technically sidewalks that leave my neighborhood that would let me get to the grocery store... About a 25 min walk. But between my neighborhood and the grocery is pretty dangerous. There's lots of entryways to houses, apartments, and a few businesses (not businesses that everyone in the community is gonna visit regularly either. Lawyers, a storage unit place... A car wash-- which people might visit regularly but not walking...) So cars are constantly crossing over that sidewalk... and the road linking my neighborhood and the grocery is busy. Not only that... The sidewalk on that road is only on the side across from my neighborhood and the only actual marked pedestrian crossing to get to that sidewalk is down by the store.... So I'd have to play Frogger to even get to it... Unless I want to walk an extra 20-30 minutes and go to the total other side of my neighborhood to get to the other place where there's a pedestrian crossing on that road... And that's just a ridiculous hassle. So I'm just going to get in my car if I need to go to the store. I don't mind going on walks just to go... But when I'm busy that often is one of the first things to go. If walking or biking was part of my commute, my trip to the bookstore, my specialty coffee trip I get at the end of an especially long and tough week...I would have no problem getting 30 min of exercise a day. But where I live now I have to go out of my way to get it. And that makes it hard sometimes

[@devorahacts]

There are changes that I see in US cities. Services like Flexcar are available right now that help people to have use of cars periodically without owning them. Slowly but surely more people are working from home. Many of us would love to stop the dependence on oil. Solar for a car would be a hot ticket.

[@saleemisgod]

Interesting angle,argued well.

[@fernandoguimaraes3751]

excelent

[@killerrockssm]

My grandparents live in a small walkable city and both get around without a car because they can walk to all their daily needs. It seems the suburbs are more conducive to the young and healthy because it's more demanding to live in a suburb

[@jecpin]

I don't know what "intense responsibilities" you are referring to, but I do know that we shape our lives by the choices we make and that it IS possible to live without a car if you really want to, no matter how old you are.

[@GeeBee_nl]

This idea executed: Groningen. video: Groningen: The World's Cycling City

[@KY_100]

moreso Utrecht

[@acdb-4145]

I agree i agree i agree!!!

[@roidroid]

14:06 Where he says the best place to be is "3 blocks from metro" in the heart of the city. When he says "METRO" does he mean 3 blocks from the CBD (Central Business District), or 3 blocks from the inner-city train/bus line?

[@SoundsAgreeable]

Metro means public transport here, so inner city train/bus line as you said.

[@KwynM]

Dream of the 90s is alive in Portland! >.>

[@michaeljames1585]

Traffic and the fact that there are like literally thousands of people all jumbled in one tiny space. You can clearly tell the difference between traffic and people and people are just as bad as the traffic.

[@MECKENICALROBOT]

WOW!!! People do use cars as prosthesis.... that is beautifully worded.

[@perplexedprimate]

And I suddenly find myself considering looking for a job in Portland...

[@mroddrenzo6730]

Awesome talk!

[@russellrichard5773]

I agree, except that the cost of such a system for a suburbia like the one that surrounds Chicago would be hilariously high.

[@Frost517]

True with the last sentence, but even our Cadillacs and Lincolns are getting smaller and smaller engines and better mpg, whether by demand, choice, or force....and some areas are in fact getting more walkable, or focusing more on local economies...

[@crystalross7943]

It's hard to compare to extreme rural be because farming food and transporting it the cities takes diesel and gas.

[@Tamales21]

That Mayo clinic joke was fucking legendary

[@ThinkingDeepThoughts]

Life is about the journey, not the destination.

[@francispetaluma]

Petaluma is more walkable than other CA cities because of it's older form factor planning layout.Recently the city has disregarded the importance of walkability; created more sprawl. The Target project is example of that. The site was supposed to be mixeduse. If it was, it would've tied in w/the surrounding neighborhoods better. But, that is what you get when private profits influence policy & planning, it's also why the city is broke. $5.5M in fees doesn't equal $200M in infrastructure costs.

[@srinivasanraghunathan8656]

Jeff Speck's humorous talk gives us wonderful insights about the rotten state of America. At the same time, it also applicable to many other parts of the world. Create more walk spaces and lead a healthy life is the message told neatly and succinctly.

[@CosmicGuiltTrip]

Look at Portland today though...

[@TheJamBamAlienMan]

Can you recall what it was called?

[@TheRockofEasyCo]

Call out to Portland from your southern buddy Eugene.

[@Superdrero]

Neilkriesterer, you should look do a little homework into failures of central planning or examples of a lack thereof. Yes we should live in a place where you can build a house, only to have someone come put a factory, parking high rise, seedy bar, or junk yard next to it. Or maybe you like living next to someone who decides their front yard should include 25 broken vehicles. Sound like the best place to live!

[@averat84]

The price of adulthood might well be an automobile. To be a fully independent adult in the U.S. is difficult or impossible without regular access to a car. This circumstance requires commitment-comfortable or uncomfortable as the case may be-not only to incorporating a particular automobile into one's life, but to the idea of the automobile. And, by extension, it also requires tacit support for the internal combustion engine and for the steel and petroleum industries as presently constituted. Moreover, it entails a profound acquiescence to the culture of the automobile: suburban lifeways, culturally toxic mobility (i.e., rootlessness), isolation from neighbors, high levels of pollution (e.g., hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, mountains of used tires), and so forth. The price is high indeed. The goals of sustainable development amount to a complete transformation of American society. Sustainable development embraces education, economics, and social justice, as well as environmental issues. Once the new collaborative decision process has been established, it can be used to develop policy in all these issue areas. Whenever public policy is developed by government-funded advocacy groups, administrators, or bureaucrats, there can be no accountability to the people. Private property rights are eroded and individual freedom evaporates. Advocates of government control of land use have exerted their influence since long before the term ‘sustainable development’ was first uttered. The 1976 U.N. Conference on Human Settlements uses the raw language: “Government control of land use is therefore indispensable.” By 1992, the advocates of government control had learned that words matter, and rather than use words such as “government control of land use…” they coined terms such as sustainable development, smart growth, and sustainable communities. It matters not what euphemism is used to shield the reality of government control. Sustainable development, smart growth, and sustainable communities all describe a government-controlled society. Every time a public policy requires a private citizen to ask permission from government, another expression of freedom is destroyed.

[@nealkriesterer]

The "urban-sprawl" is the result of central planning via forcing citizens to pay for the creation and maintenance of public roads. The latest spurt was part of the housing crisis, which was again caused by central planning, this time by incentivizing unsustainably loose mortgages. Is the solution to this problem really more central planning, or could it be that central planning is the problem itself?

[@G3ntlem4niac]

you can always count on a TED Talk to restore your faith in humanity :3

[@FLOABName]

this makes me feel less guilty about not getting my drivers licence. Even when i do get it i dont want to use it as much as possible.

[@russellrichard5773]

I'm 26 and I've owned two cars and a motorcycle. I would love to be able to live somewhere where I don't have to drive. I, too, love to bike. I do it all the time. But, there is nowhere for me to go when I get on my bike. Even the grocery store requires an expressway ride. I don't have the financial ability to move somewhere and then get a job, like Jeff Speck suggests. It would be lovely if I did.

[@concil1]

I agree, I’m not particularly well educated, or in a position to become so, I can’t just simply move out to a place like Portland Oregon and then find a job, who would foot the bill?

[@RogerBrowne]

Suburban sprawl was enabled by the zoning system. The best way to get walkable cities is to abolish zoning restrictions.

[@tradejs]

Suburban sprawl has been forced on us plenty. Why not have both options? There are those who want to live in towns and cities and not everyone wants to live in the suburbs having to commute. The better the cities are planned, the more open space we preserve as well.

[@tristbjorn]

people will also build factories where they own land and where transport + labor is available. 19th century cities is a great example of that.

[@DesapriyaEdiriweera]

Valuable insight

[@johnkim7802]

+Desapriya Ediriweera Creating walkable cities and communities have been touted as the solution to many economic and social problems including obesity, pollution, traffic problems, traffic accidents, etc. And these three are some of the largest problems as well since obesity, pollution, and traffic problems are among the ten most common factors leading to most health problems and deaths. But walkable cities will not solve many problems for good since unintended consequences will arise. Firstly, the more expensive real estate costs, higher rental rates, higher living costs, and higher municipal taxes within cities lead to less disposable income for many residents and income has among the strongest correlations with mortality rates, quality of life, etc. This is perhaps my main argument in advising that the city isn't for everyone. Secondly, people surrender their autonomy by giving up their cars and then become forced to rely upon public transportation which has been shown to be very inefficient over the long run. These public transportation projects are often built using large taxpayer funding and municipal bonds which only depress the growth of city economies in the future after being a short term gain. Thirdly, I question the walkable city and correlation with obesity. It's not necessarily the walkable city curbing obesity but rather that many of the more educated and higher income classes w/ lower obesity rates live in those areas. I am not advocating for return for rural areas and actually love the city. I personally am 25 and plan to be in the cities until my 40s. Suburban areas and personal vehicles are key to better lifestyles, more freedom, and take the best of both rural and urban areas for a good compromise.

[@DesapriyaEdiriweera]

Thank you for sharing your valuable thoughts Kim and I certainly agree with your perspectives.Indeed I believe that walkable cities could solve many of our modern day problems including sedentary life styles of our communities.

[@Superdrero]

Yes, I have lived in a rural area. If you live in one of those places where everyone lives miles away from each other, there won't be a sense of community because there isn't one. The comments about the sustainability of urban sprawl compared to such places just makes me laugh. Let's build and maintain 20 miles of road, sewage, and water utilities for three houses. Sustainability at it's finest.