Best sentences I read this week: Vol. 11

“Citi expects this combination of factors to slow the power sector’s use of coal, pointing to a possible flattening or peaking before 2020, although many global energy agencies continue to expect high coal demand in the years to come.”

–Peak Coal In China

“In a poll of 875 likely voters in New York City’s upcoming mayoral election, 67 percent of respondents (including 65 percent of those who own cars) said they support “bringing protected bike lanes and pedestrian islands” to their neighborhoods, polling firm Penn Schoen Berland showed Monday.”

–67 PERCENT OF NEW YORKERS BACK BETTER BIKING & WALKING by Michael Andersen

“Calgary found that by adopting a denser growth pattern that used 25% less land, it could save $11 billion in capital costs alone.”

–The Cost of Sprawl

“EVERYBODY who knows me knows that I love cycling and that I’m also completely freaked out by it.”

–Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists? by DANIEL DUANE

“Interestingly, this visionary imagination works in conjunction with a hyperawareness of reality.”

–Why Creative People Sometimes Make No Sense

“A demand for roads can be tied to the design of a community. Seeking efficiencies in a system designed for automobiles through the provision of additional road capacity does not resolve the underlying issue. If traffic congestion is to be ameliorated, supply shouldn’t be addressed. Address demand. By focusing on supply (i.e. building more roads), and not demand (i.e. augmenting a city to lessen vehicular demand), the production of an auto-centric city continues.”

–The Irony of Ring Roads by STEVEN SNELL

“In the third year of his term, Peñalosa challenged Bogotáns to participate in an experiment. As of dawn on 24 February 2000, cars were banned from streets for the day. It was the first day in four years that nobody was killed in traffic. Hospital admissions fell by almost a third. The toxic haze over the city thinned. People told pollsters that they were more optimistic about city life than they had been in years.”

–http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/01/secrets-worlds-happiest-cities-commute-property-prices by Charles Montgomery

Multi-use and grocery stores

I have begun reading The Life and Death of Great American Cities by the great Jane Jacobs. So far one idea that jumps out to me is that of multi-use. As she discusses the evolution of ideas that have killed and discouraged multi-use planning I think about the three cities I have lived in, usage zoning and grocery stores.

In Calgary our grocery stores are exemplary of the idea that you live on place and then shop another. I cannot walk to the grocery and the same is true of most Calgarians. We have a small number of very large grocery stores rather than a large number of smaller groceries stores. As a result going out to buy some milk is a burden and impractical. Most people drive to the grocery store and make large trips stocking up for the week.

CVS stores were a nice discovery when I lived in DC. They are a cross between grocery stores and convenience stores. They also sell really good frozen chicken wings. The district was filled with them so that the most basic needs like a carton of milk or a snack were easy to fill. There were also larger grocery stores that you could walk to, though it was often farther. Luckily I lived near a Target and Safeway as well as a CVS so all of my bases were covered. I made small trips to pick up supplies never buying more than I could fit into a backpack. These stores were tucked in alongside residential and commercial areas.

In Copenhagen you are pretty much always within a five minute walk of a grocery store. There was a large grocery store across the street from me, a small one in the building next door (a daunting one minute journey) and one four minutes away if I felt like a jaunt. The smaller stores were the size of CVS but stocked everything you could need. They go with the model of fewer choices but more stores. Copenhagen is a prime example of good planning. It’s the goldilocks of density. Not density alone but density with shops, kebab stands, transit, bike lanes, libraries, schools, parks and of course lots of grocery stores.

In Calgary I have over 300 choices of toothpaste but it’s inconvenient to shop. I would rather have five choices and have a ten minute round trip. I would love to live within walking distance of everything I could possibly need. A good solution here would be to require grocery stores in new developments and to promote smaller stores in the inner city.