According to Redfin, several American cities – some the usual progressive suspects, but others quite surprising – are making moves to build more homes in walkable neighborhoods. Other, however, are stuck in the past, building more of the distant suburbs.
Why do we need more walkable cities? Quite simply because walkable cities are, by definition, sustainable cities. Transportation remains a major source of greenhouse gas pollution, and, unlike electricity or agriculture, the United States remains firmly stuck on a fossil-fuel dependent transport infrastructure. When we live in spread out suburbs, far from work, shopping, schools, and cultural centers, we have to drive. Often, we drive inefficient, single-occupancy vehicles, burning more fossil fuels, and creating more traffic.
According to Redfin, several American cities – some the usual progressive suspects, but others quite surprising – are making moves to build more homes in walkable neighborhoods. Other, however, are stuck in the past, building more of the distant suburbs.
Why do we need more walkable cities? Quite simply because walkable cities are, by definition, sustainable cities. Transportation remains a major source of greenhouse gas pollution, and, unlike electricity or agriculture, the United States remains firmly stuck on a fossil-fuel dependent transport infrastructure. When we live in spread out suburbs, far from work, shopping, schools, and cultural centers, we have to drive. Often, we drive inefficient, single-occupancy vehicles, burning more fossil fuels, and creating more traffic.
In fact, the existence of more walkable neighborhoods (along with effective public transit) is likely the chief reason that Europe, Japan, and South Korea, other developed, highly industrialized economies, have far lower per-capita greenhouse gas emissions than us here in the U.S. Transforming our cities from car-centric to walkable, dense, green neighborhoods is one critical step to meet future climate goals.
We all know that San Francisco, New York, and Boston are walkable, due mostly to the fact that their urban centers here were built and designed before the ubiquity of the automobile. But a recent report from Redfin analyzed which cities are investing in walkable neighborhoods and has some pleasant surprises. For example, Cleveland, Seattle, and Dallas were all ranked in the top 10, as each are building more homes in walkable neighborhoods than before. All three have very low average walk scores (between 45-59, as compared to 86 for San Francisco and 81 for Boston).
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Photo Credit: Gene Arboit via Wikimedia Commons
