Seen in St. Louis

CNN has a article up tonight discussing the recent trends in new urbanism, downtown revitalization, and the popularity of walkable communities; and coupling these with both high gas prices and the subprime mortgage crisis in predicting the soon demise of suburbia. Of note, the article projects that within 10 to 15 years the inner city poor will be priced out of America’s downtown communities and be relegated to rundown McMansions, empty plazas, and fields of unused parking lots. Apparently this is already happening in some communities where the subprime crisis has transformed whole subdivisions from well kept single family homes and into low income rental slums.

More at CNN

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The Syndicate, a hub of downtown St. Louis activity, scored a perfect 100 on walkscore.com, a rating service that gauges the “walkability” of a neighborhood. They consider it considered a “walker’s paradise.” From walkscore’s website, walkable neighborhoods have:

1. A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a discernable center, whether it’s a shopping district, a main street, or a public space.
2. Density: The neighborhood is dense enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to be cost effective.
3. Mixed income, mixed use: Housing is provided for everyone who works in the neighborhood: young and old, singles and families, rich and poor. Businesses and residences are located near each other.
4. Parks and public space: There are plenty of public places to gather and play.
5. Accessibility: The neighborhood is accessible to everyone and has wheelchair access, plenty of benches with shade, sidewalks on all streets, etc.
6. Well connected, speed controlled streets: Streets form a connected grid that improves traffic by providing many routes to any destination. Streets are narrow to control speed, and shaded by trees to protect pedestrians.
7. Pedestrian-centric design: Buildings are placed close to the street to cater to foot traffic, with parking lots relegated to the back.
8. Close schools and workplaces: Schools and workplaces are close enough that most residents can walk from their home

Because such a “walker’s paradise” means that “most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car,” we have decided to sell ours, despite that it is only a couple years old and was paid off last year. Thomas argues its part of our commitment to an ethical lifestyle, so who can disagree

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