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Everyone’s an urban planner these days. With the rise in blogging and listservs, it’s hard to keep track of who is making development decisions—-and who thinks they’re making development decisions.
You can see it in the occasional comment, “I think it’s amazing that some people think they can tell people they can’t do something on their own land, even when the law allows it. It also screams of anti-gentrification memes.” And in the discussions generated on some sites.
I guess there are pluses and minuses to getting more people involved in the conversation. On that note, this random “Walkable Neightborhoods” blog came up on my google reader today, and I figured meh, why not share?
The blogger has ranked his top 20 walkable cities in America.The lists comes in parts: “20-16 Favorite Large US Cities”; 15-11; and 10-6. The final rankings have yet to be published.
Washington comes in at number seven—-10. Boston 9. Columbus 8. San Diego 7. Washington D.C. 6. Seattle—-for this blogger (according to his website, he’s an urban planner in Sacramento).
Here’s what he has to say about our city:
– “Admittedly, Washington, DC is probably ranked too low on my list. But, really, the differences in my rankings of the remaining cities is very small, so it could easily climb to number one after my next visit. Obviously, there are many great things to see and do in DC. I spent a lot of time doing the tourist track and not getting to know the
neighborhoods. However, I know it boasts one of the best transit systems in the country. It also has a great mix of really old, historical neighborhoods, and new, high-density, mixed-use developments. I also like the fact that it’s a little farther south than some of the other great US cities. I am dying to go back for a
visit!”
I’m wondering what sits at the top of most people’s lists.
For the record, D.C. did much better in a 2007 Brookings report analyzing metro area’s “walkability.” Of thirty cities, we ranked number one: 1. Washington 2. Boston 3. San Francisco 4. Denver 5. Portland, Ore. 6. Seattle 7. Chicago 8. Miami 9. Pittsburgh 10. New York.