Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Guess who's coming to WalkBoston?
Here at the WalkBoston offices, we're busy with a flurry of preparation for our annual celebration, coming up on Thursday, March 19. One of the most exciting things about it this year is that Governor Deval Patrick will be joining us for the pre-celebration walk and making remarks at the celebration itself. Would you like to join us? Please do!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
George Bailey
I'm sad to be linking to the obituary of George Bailey, longtime WalkBoston supporter, Golden Shoe Award winner and pedestrian advocate. It mentions how George, as a member of the Sharon Planning Board, pressed to require developers to install sidewalks in their projects. "Today, Sharon is a very walkable community," said his wife, Lucile.
Our condolences to his friends and family, and we'll take a walk in his honor this weekend.
Our condolences to his friends and family, and we'll take a walk in his honor this weekend.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Enrique Peñalosa on Urban Happiness
Last Thursday, I attended a lecture by Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá, who was visiting Boston through Livable Streets, and Institute for Transportation and Development Policy last week. He also visited the WalkBoston offices for a couple of lively lunchtime conversations.
What I found most engaging about Peñalosa was not any particular design suggestion he made for cities. Most of us who are interested in urbanism are familiar with ideas like creating more open space, making bigger sidewalks, bike lanes, and the like, and most of us who are working in the field in Boston know better the streets that would most benefit from an overhaul. What Peñalosa offers, however, is a way of thinking that represents a true paradigm shift in how we approach the politics of urban design.
In essence, what he proposes is that the city be considered habitat for humans, and that people should be the primary focus for urban design. We have Environmental Impact Reviews, he pointed out, but not Human Impact Reviews. Cities planned for cars are cities that institutionalize class-based inequality, as they prioritize the transportation of people who can afford cars over the safety, enjoyment, and transportation of people who can't, or who choose not to. Therefore, reorienting the city towards pedestrians is a move toward equality.
To this end, we should see sidewalks not as relatives of streets, whose job is to get people from here to there, but instead as relatives of parks, which are all about people's pleasure of place. At intersections, the sidewalk should remain at a level, making cars come into pedestrians' space rather than make pedestrians step into the car zone to get across the street. Sidewalks should come first, then room for public transportation, which is a public good, and only if there's room should there be street space for private vehicles in the public way.
What would our cities look like if they put people first?
What I found most engaging about Peñalosa was not any particular design suggestion he made for cities. Most of us who are interested in urbanism are familiar with ideas like creating more open space, making bigger sidewalks, bike lanes, and the like, and most of us who are working in the field in Boston know better the streets that would most benefit from an overhaul. What Peñalosa offers, however, is a way of thinking that represents a true paradigm shift in how we approach the politics of urban design.
In essence, what he proposes is that the city be considered habitat for humans, and that people should be the primary focus for urban design. We have Environmental Impact Reviews, he pointed out, but not Human Impact Reviews. Cities planned for cars are cities that institutionalize class-based inequality, as they prioritize the transportation of people who can afford cars over the safety, enjoyment, and transportation of people who can't, or who choose not to. Therefore, reorienting the city towards pedestrians is a move toward equality.
To this end, we should see sidewalks not as relatives of streets, whose job is to get people from here to there, but instead as relatives of parks, which are all about people's pleasure of place. At intersections, the sidewalk should remain at a level, making cars come into pedestrians' space rather than make pedestrians step into the car zone to get across the street. Sidewalks should come first, then room for public transportation, which is a public good, and only if there's room should there be street space for private vehicles in the public way.
What would our cities look like if they put people first?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
If you care about how transit dollars are spent ... Call your Senators today!
There is movement in the Senate to strip funding from transit and redirect it to highway construction.
Please call these Senators to express your alarm about the out-of control highway proposals. Say no to highway expansion, and yes to transit and walkable communities.
Urge Senators to vote NO on the Bond Amendments and the Inhofe-Boxer Amendment!
Kit Bond (R-MO) Amendment #1: Strips $2 billion set aside for high-speed rail and redirects it to highway funding.
Kit Bond (R-MO) Amendment #2: Takes $5.5 billion in competitive transportation grants and gives it to highways.
Inhofe(R-OK) and Boxer (D-CA) Amendment: Creates $50 billion transportation slush fund with no criteria for fix-it-first or transit. Read: highway expansion.
Votes could be taken at anytime, so please call these Senators today!
Senator John Kerry
TEL: 202-224-2742
FAX: 202-224-8525
Senator Ted Kennedy
TEL: 202-224-4543
FAX: 202-224-2417
Senator Barbara Boxer
TEL: 202-224-3553
FAX: 202-224-0454
Majority Leader Harry Reid
TEL: 202-224-3542
FAX: 202-224-7327
[Edited to add: As of 11:45 this morning, I've only be able to get through to Senator Kennedy's office. It would seem the Senate phones are receiving a lot of calls. Keep trying!]
Please call these Senators to express your alarm about the out-of control highway proposals. Say no to highway expansion, and yes to transit and walkable communities.
Urge Senators to vote NO on the Bond Amendments and the Inhofe-Boxer Amendment!
Kit Bond (R-MO) Amendment #1: Strips $2 billion set aside for high-speed rail and redirects it to highway funding.
Kit Bond (R-MO) Amendment #2: Takes $5.5 billion in competitive transportation grants and gives it to highways.
Inhofe(R-OK) and Boxer (D-CA) Amendment: Creates $50 billion transportation slush fund with no criteria for fix-it-first or transit. Read: highway expansion.
Votes could be taken at anytime, so please call these Senators today!
Senator John Kerry
TEL: 202-224-2742
FAX: 202-224-8525
Senator Ted Kennedy
TEL: 202-224-4543
FAX: 202-224-2417
Senator Barbara Boxer
TEL: 202-224-3553
FAX: 202-224-0454
Majority Leader Harry Reid
TEL: 202-224-3542
FAX: 202-224-7327
[Edited to add: As of 11:45 this morning, I've only be able to get through to Senator Kennedy's office. It would seem the Senate phones are receiving a lot of calls. Keep trying!]
Monday, February 2, 2009
Break ice while the weather's nice!
Today, it's supposed to be over 40 degrees here in the Boston area. This is a great chance for those folks who've fallen behind on sidewalk clearing to get ahead of tomorrow's snow! There's nothing so treacherous as pitted ice under a camoflaging layer of new snow, so you'll be doing your neighbors and neighborhood a good deed if you have a chance to get out there and clear old ice this afternoon.
I know it's hard to stay on top of the snow this year, but it makes a big, big difference to both individuals and communities for everyone who's able to do their part.
I know it's hard to stay on top of the snow this year, but it makes a big, big difference to both individuals and communities for everyone who's able to do their part.
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