This diagram summarizes the requirements for a community based on Smart Growth. Smart Growth is a method of designing communities in a sustainable manner. In my opinion... why the hell werent we designing communites like this in the first place!!! Its just so obvious that this is how communites will be more successful. Instead urban sprawl just took over and made cities way to big, and communites way too useless, destroying a lot of natural resources and land along the way.
Studies have shown that if a person’s destination is more than 800m away they will choose to drive versus walk. Therefore communities should be based on a distance of 800m. This means that schools, churches, stores, banks, etc, Should all be within 800 meters from as many households as possible in a community. Most effective would be a circular community with all stores and amenities in the core of the circle with the homes surrounding the core to a distance of 800m in all directions. This ensures that people could live within their community and they could walk or bike to a destination very easily. This would mean that more kids could walk/bike to school, more people could walk to the grocery store, etc. This helps to ensure the community is liveable for all.
To promote walking there needs to be appropriate walking paths that actually go somewhere. Many walking paths in communities today do not lead to any actual destination or they are a much longer distance than the driving route. Therefore the users are limited to those who are just walking for fun. There also is a requirement in communities to provide parks, wetlands, and green space for community enjoyment. This helps to preserve open space and resources in the community.
Having a core business center in the community will promote economic development of the community. It can also act as a central meeting place for people living in the community to meet one another improving the social aspects of the community. Community problems such as crime, litter, accidents, and such will be minimized if the socialization between neighbours increases. When your neighbours are your friends and you know that they are looking out for you, it helps you to feel safer and can increase security of an area.
To ensure that people of all income levels and family sizes can inhabit the community a range of housing opportunities should be provided. You can make lower income housing in areas such as above businesses in the central core. A variety of townhomes, apartments, and single family homes should be present. This should be designed so that as many people as possible can be housed within the community and also try to satisfy the 800 meter distance to the central core.
For times when people need to leave their community alternative modes of transportation such as an appropriate public transit system must be available. Having a central transit area in the core of the community that would provide rapid transit buses to important areas of the city would be beneficial. Problems with public transit usually include:
· Takes much longer than driving a personal vehicle
· Never on time
· Doesn’t service your community
· Too expensive
The more of these problems that are addressed, the more people you will have riding it. Therefore a central transit area in the core of the community with rapid transit will ensure that the travel times are comparable to driving times and will also ensure that everyone in the community will have access to the system.
All of these ideas will allow an increase in the quality of life of all community members. It will provide people with more affordable and appropriate housing, a reduction in the dependence on motor vehicles through walking and public transit, opportunities for economic development, opportunities for social and cultural development, and more.
Even tho this is just a comic and is supposed to be ironic.. this actually happens.
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