User:Springtime52/sandbox

Introduction

Walkability is a nebulous term for planning concepts best understood by the mixed-use of amenities in high-density neighborhoods where people can access said amenities by foot. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it should be relatively complete livable spaces that serve a variety of uses, users, and transportation modes and reduce the need for cars for travel.

The term 'walkability' was primarily invented in the 1960s due to Jane Jacobs revolution in urban thought. It is open to interpretation but resists any reduction to its extensive properties.

In recent years, walkability has become popular because of its health, economic, and environmental benefits. It is an essential concept of sustainable urban design. Factors influencing walkability include the presence or absence and quality of footpaths, sidewalks, pedestrian rights-of-way, traffic and road conditions, land use of patterns, building accessibility, and safety.

Key Factors of Walkability (Urban DMA)

Walkability relies on the interdependencies between density, mix, and access in synergy. The urban DMA (Density, Mix, Access) is a set of synergies between the ways cities concentrate people and buildings, how they mix different people and activities, and the access networks used to navigate through them. These factors cannot be taken singularly. Rather than an ideal functional mix, there is a mix of mixes and interdependencies between formal, social, and functional mixes. Likewise, walk-able access cannot be reduced to any singular measure of connectivity, permeability, or catchment but is dependent on destinations and geared to metropolitan access through public transit nodes. While DMA is based on walkability measures, popular‘ walk score’ or ‘rate mystreet’ websites offer more metrics to connect urban morphology with better environmental and health outcomes.

Density

Density is an interrelated assemblage of buildings, populations, and street life. It is a crucial property of walkability because it concentrates more people and places within walkable distances. There is difficulty determining density since large portions of the population oscillate from the suburbs to the center daily in many cities and the population of visitors. Moreover, measures of density can differ dramatically for different morphologies and building typologies. First, there is a persistent confusion over density is the conflation of density with building height. The ratio between the floor area and the site area is generally known as the Floor Area Ratio (FAR, also called Plot Ratio and Floor Space Index). For example, a ten-story building on 10% of the site has the same floor area as a single-story building with 100% site coverage. Secondly, The measure of dwellings/hectare is common but particularly blunt. It depends on the functional mix, household size, and dwelling size in relation to building or population densities. Larger houses will produce higher building densities for the same population, and larger households will lead to higher populations for the same number of dwellings. In functionally mixed neighborhoods, housing will be just one component of the mix and therefore not a measure of building or population density. The census-based density of residents/hectare is another common measure, but it does not include those who work there.

Functional Mix

Functional mix, like density, shortens the distances between wherever we are and where we need to be. The live/work/visit triangle constructs a field of possible relations between three primary functions that resonate with what economists have often called reproduction, production, and exchange (incorporating social exchange). They also identify primary relations between people and urban space – we become ‘residents,’ ‘workers,’ and ‘visitors,’ respectively, in different locations in everyday life. The key shift here lies in focusing on the mix rather than their functions. Such mapping offers an empirical understanding of the mix that enables us to expose different kinds and levels of a mix. It is tempting to construct an index for an ideal mix measured by the degree of lightness as the mix approaches the center of the triangle. However, we suggest that the best cities comprise a mix of mixes. Our attention should focus instead on the corners of the triangle – the dysfunctional parts of cities where one can- not walk between living, work, and visiting functions.

While the functional mix is crucial to any approach to walkability, it is important to note here that function is itself but one dimension of the urban mix, including the formal and social mix. A formal mix emerges from how a city produces different plot sizes, which are linked to different building styles, floor plate sizes, and building heights. While a small-grain urban fabric is linked to a more mixed neighborhood, large grains also need because some functions rely on those large grains to become part of the mix. The social mix has to do with how a good city brings together people of different ages, abilities, ethnicities, and social classes. Cities are places where differences rub together in walkable public spaces, and this mix of differences is fundamental to the production of urban vitality. Again, there is no single index for mix in its impact on walkability. The concept is fundamentally relational, both between functions and the formal and social mix sustaining them.

Access Networks

The access networks of a city enable and constrain pedestrian flows; it is the capacity or possibility to walk. Like density and mix, these are properties embodied in urban form and facilitate more efficient pedestrian flows. Access networks are also multi-modal and need to be understood from the perspective of those who choose between modes of walking, cycling, public transport, and cars. Public transport trips are generally coupled with walkable access to the transit stop. Walking will primarily be chosen for up to 10 minutes if it is the fastest mode and other factors are equal. Walking has the advantage that it is a much more predictable trip time than public transport or cars, where we have to allow for delays caused by poor service, congestion, and parking.

Popularity and Pop Culture

r/fuckcars

user @kummunista

reminder that you don't hate cities you hate cars. think of the negatively associated with cities ugly loud dirty crowded. black pavement for cars pollution and parking space. car accident and homicides

Growth Ponzi Scheme

earning of the area does not pay enough

White Flight