New Research Proves That People Need Our Company

Eric Fredericks • Thursday February 1, 2007

Dr. Larry Frank is a fantastic friend to have.

I’ve never met him before, but he certainly has made life easier for me and others in the walkability field. He is a researcher out of the University of British Columbia. Just about every research project that shows why we need walkable neighborhoods and smart growth seems to have his name (Lawrence usually) attached to it.

His latest research report extensively documents and analyzes the the Atlanta region and produced some interesting results. In fact, the research found what I have been guesstimating myself for quite a while – that about 5% of homes are in walkable neighborhoods, yet the market is such that one third of people would live in walkable neighborhoods if they could (i.e. too expensive, poor schools, etc.). Here is a highlight of some of the interesting findings from the report (My apologies for copying this from the report, it’s just too interesting not to share!):

How Atlantans Travel

Atlantans, on average, drive more miles daily than residents of most other regions of the nation.
The distance driven grows steadily as counties get farther from the urban core. Residents in the central counties (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Douglas) drive an average of 32.7 miles/59 minutes daily per person, while those in the outlying counties drive an average of almost 44 miles/72 minutes daily.

Daily commutes are often the longest trips people make
The average commute distance in the region is 16.5 miles. Commuters in outlying counties drive far more than that. The average commute trip in Paulding County is 31.6 miles, almost twice the regional average.

People spend nearly as much time in their cars on weekends as on weekdays.
The average distance driven on the weekend is just 6 percent lower than on the weekdays. >>Continue Reading This Article>>

 

Category: Publications •• Region: Atlanta •• comments

My Response to MONEY Magazine's Auto-Centric Best Places to Live 2006 List

Eric Fredericks • Monday July 17, 2006

MONEY Magazine released its list for Best Places to Live in 2006, and I was not very impressed. Most of you will probably not be impressed, either. Here is their top ten:

1. Fort Collins, CO
2. Naperville, IL
3. Sugar Land, TX
4. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
5. Cary, NC
6. Overland Park, KS
7. Scottsdale, AZ
8. Boise, ID
9. Fairfield, CT
10. Eden Prairie, MN

Most of these cities have one thing in common: they are all sprawling – some very bad. The data they use obviously cannot take quality of life into account, because in many of these cities you have to drive to everything and you will be stuck in massive traffic jams along the way. Does not sound like fun to me. Especially when, on a Sunday afternoon, I could lay out in the middle of the streets of Downtown Sacramento practically and not be bothered by cars. On weekends, bikes and peds rule. On weekdays, commuting suburbanites increase Sacramento’s population by over 100,000.

Here is the response I posted on their blog regarding their list: “Too many of these cities on the list are auto-centric sprawling suburban cities that you must have a car to get around to anything. What will happen to these cities if gas prices reach $6/gallon? Or a large percentage of the baby boomer generation is unable to drive? They will be forced to stay in their little retirement communities, totally dependent on others for everything. It is time to get over the fascination of sprawling suburbs with huge cookie-cutter homes, large yards, massive roads, and massive congestion problems. We need to start building and promoting denser, walkable neighborhoods, otherwise there will be no scenic, undeveloped land left in this beautiful country.”

Some of the comments posted on the blog are very insightful. I agree with one of the readers that suggested MONEY develop a list with several different categories. Obviously, people like cities for all sorts of reasons and what some like about one place, someone else hates it for that reason. Better categories could help make the list more useful.

 

Category: Publications •• Region: United States •• Comments [3]

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