Livable Streets

Few children’s books skillfully cover the subject of urban planning. Chicago's Wacker Manual for the Plan of Chicago (1911), David Macaulay’s lavishly illustrated City:A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (1974), and most recently, Planetizen's Where Things Are, From Near to Far (2008) are standouts.

 

More than two years years ago I chronicled my daily bicycle commute in Miami. The 8-mile trip was as representative of Miami's built and socio-cultural landscape as it was harrowing. 

While that city has surely made progress in the pas two years, I'd be lying if I didn't disclose that I partially moved to New York City because of the progress being made in designing livable streets infrastructure. Quite simply, it feels good to be in a city that "gets it." 

For a myriad of personal and professional reasons I moved to New York City this fall. Part of the reason I uprooted myself from the pastel, sun soaked streets of Miami Beach to the chaos of New York is because Gotham has made such incredible strides in becoming one of America's most bicycle-friendly cities. 

Livable streets proponents look back on 2008 as the year some of the movement’s best laid plans became mainstream. Bicycle sharing systems launched in both Washington DC and Montreal. Auto-dependent Charlotte saw its LYNX light rail surpass 2025 ridership projections, while Seattle also beat ridership projections on its snazzy new Streetcar. And New York City and Portland continued to reclaim space for less auto-centric uses—witnessing 35% and 25% growth respectively in bicycle mode share.

Single-family detached homes typically epitomize sprawl, while 4 or 5 story apartment buildings now seem to be the utopian ideal for livable neighborhoods. But some of the most livable and walkable neighborhoods I know are largely comprised of single family homes.

In late 2007, it was with increasing frustration that I penned and op-ed entitled "Make Miami a Bicycle-Friendly City." Appearing in the December 13th edition of the Miami Herald, the article implored City officials to make the city more amenable to bicycling (It was no surprise in the spring of 2008 when Bicycling Magazine named Miami one of the three worst cities in America in which to bicycle).

The City's response exceeded all of my expectations.