chriswnw

For most people in large cities, "things to do" means little more than drinking at bars and coffee shops all day long. That's how the "artists" in Portland spend their time

chriswnw

I guess I could go with a limited number of glass towers in "city centers" areas, enough to cater to the demand of the limited number of people who want to live in such things and to potentially offset some amount of sprawl. I wouldn't spend any time in them myself, of course

I have read that Vancouver does have a very strict green space requirement where towers are constructed -- mandated setbacks from the street, limited footprint diameter, etc. Although I am not a fan of towers, I find the skyscraper part of Vancouver to be more tolerable than that of other cities.

Silent Otto

A couple of books by JAmes Howard Kunstler are illuminating upon this subject: "The Geography of Nowhere", and "Home from Nowhere." Both are highly recommended.

chriswnw

Kunstler is interesting. My understanding is that he dislikes both skyscrapers and suburban sprawl, preferring moderate-density European or early 20th century American style development.

Roody

I look for development like what they had at the height of the pre-auto age. That usually was a downtown area with the offices and major department stores. There was a grid street system so there were many alternative routes for cyclists. Streetcar routes followed the grid pattern, and streetcars travelled on tracks in the middle of streets. Commuter trains radiated from the downtown station, facilitatinfg the development of suburbs within 30 minutes of the downtown. These suburbs each had their own mini-downtowns, much like a village or town. There were also shopping districts scattered throughout the city, so everybody was within walking distance of a grocery, bank, pharmacy, etc.

If you want to see what pre-car cities looked like, there are hundreds of views at carfree cities.

chriswnw

I agree, streetcar era cities are my favorite type of cites. However, I don't think that the streetcar is the best transportation vehicle anymore -- I'd favor rapid commuter rail combined with various low-speed personal transportation vehicles. And please, no horses!

Roody

The fixed routes of streetcars do seem to encourage desirable development patterns. that's their only advantage that I'm aware of.

Oh, one other advantage of streetcars--they don't require batteries.

Silent Otto

....and once again the bike forums site takes my carefully crafted post and flings it into the ether...this is a really frustrating site sometimes. It reminds me of the Python sketch" John Cleese as Beethoven--he finally works out the opening to the 5th, but then is distracted, and then can't find the notes again....

Anyway the gist of it was in regard to point #14, limiting access to DLs. This will never happen until its far too late. A DL is your membership card to adult society, failure to hold one is grounds for exclusion and suspicion. Not so long ago, I was questioned at length as to why I didn't have a DL by US blackshirt border guards, even as I held my passport in hand.

Remember too that "the American way of life is non-negotiable." (GHWBush) This was reiterated by the demigod Obama in the inauguration speech: "We will not apologize for our way of life." To suggest that people not be allowed their precious driving "rights" is downright un-'murikan. How dare you!

kenkayak

Camden Maine The North Atlantic to sail in at your front.The coastal mountains for winter sport and walking to your rear; Rt.1 and a great shopping village right down the middle.//Bring a fat billfold//Kenneth

Roody

Make sure your browser accepts cookies. Then click the "Remember me" box when you log in. The site should not time you out if you do this.

Or, copy your post into your computer's memory before you click the "submit post" button. If the site has logged you out, you can log back in and paste the post into a "quick reply" box at the end of the thread.

KitN

I'm currently living in my ideal city: New York City.

But I have a few other "backups":

- London
- Tokyo (I lived in Tokyo for some time.)
- San Fran

Roody

$$$$$
The three most expensive cities in the world, I believe.

Lamplight

That's a fascinating site. Thanks for posting it!

wahoonc

When traveling I seldom provide my DL for ID I use my US Passport. FWIW I was actually denied boarding at a US Airport because of the condition of my DL, if I hadn't had my Passport I most likely would not been allowed to board the flight.

Aaron

Machka 

That's all the people here (my coworkers, my fellow students) seem to do ... drinking in bars, at home, wherever. The big exciting thing seems to be going out and getting smashed on the weekends.

For me, "things to do" include things like ...

-- cycling here, there, and everywhere (this is, after all a cycling forum ... it's why we're here). I've cycled pretty much everywhere within about a 100 km radius of my current place of residence ... as well as several places throughout my province ... as well as many places in my country and throughout the world. And I'm still cycling because there's a lot to see out there!

-- checking out interesting-looking museums, shops, view points, etc. etc. often found in small towns out in the middle of nowhere. A lot of my city friends don't know that these places exist, but they're fascinating. So much history.

-- other sports such as swimming, cross-country skiing, weightlifting, hiking ....

I can do these things in a city, but I can also do them in the country ... and when it comes to cycling, I greatly prefer to do that in the country.

rotharpunc

.....

zeppinger

Yes, that was indeed the joke. Maybe I should spoon feed you all my jokes by putting little ironic smily faces in my posts?

Robert Foster

I side with Machka on this one.

Sometimes it is time to toss the Fertilizer Flag. This insistence on big cities is getting a bit oppressive. We talk about LCF as being better for nature but if we don’t enjoy nature what good is it? Big city living has its place but it sure isn’t natural. It is 100 percent man made of Glass, steel and concrete. How many big city dwellers even know they could see the Seven Sisters better known as the Pleiades, with the naked eye? It is true without all that light pollution we have a sky above us that is beautiful to observe. In the winter you can look at Orion’s belt and without a telescope detect a Nebula and with a good pair of binoculars you can see two right about where the sword is.

There are animals that actually live in the wild and places you can park your bike without locking it up. Hard to believe I know. I happen to live where there are dairy farms and fruit orchards and bank clerks that know you first name. I can ride to a lake to fish or go to the hardware store by bike if I wish. There are even streets not that far from me where kids can still play catch in the street.

All you have to do is fly over the country and you will see we have plenty of room to live with nature rather than build glass and steel fortresses trying to hold nature at arms length. The Big cities look like giant spot lights or hot spots pointing to the sky in defiance of nature. If we ever have to live like Blade Runner or THX1138 then why live? How much heat do we believe a large city reflects back into the sky and change weather patterns? I don’t know but since the question was what was my ideal city it would not be one as anti nature as a large City. I have no problem with people wishing to avoid nature and living in a big city but I wish they would be content with living there themselves and stop trying to convince the people that are free to enjoy a little less concrete and steel that somehow we are missing something. If we can’t even agree on the idea, “to each his own” how in the world are we ever going to see a change in this world?

I-Like-To-Bike

You are the joker. Keep posting your stereotyped baloney and later post that you were only kidding; only a fool takes any of your posts as the product of a person who knows the difference between reality and fantasy.

zeppinger

Sounds like another personal attack.... yet again.

chriswnw

It isn't really my aim to stop people from driving. Plus, developers still would have the right to construct parking facilities for those who demand it -- they just wouldn't be required to.

I was also thinking that requiring all parking lots to be enclosed within buildings or underground would be very punitive toward small businesses that have outdoor parking lots with about ten spaces or so. I might have to reconsider that one.

I already backed off that one earlier in the thread. I think they're ugly, but I guess I could just avoid them by living in colder climate like I do now.

Eh...maybe you're right -- one of my friends who grew up in a rural area told me that most people who have had their license taken away drive anyway. We'll just stick with the 30 mph in-city speed limit (on surface streets, not highways) and getting rid of local express freeways (namely, the ones that don't serve the purpose of transport to and from other metro areas).

chriswnw

Thanks for your comments. Here are my revisions. Now all I have to do is ascend from my role as a lowly office slave to dictator. Until then, this is all intellectual w@nkery, I realize.

1. Interconnected street networks shall be mandated. For every arterial street, a two-lane 25 mph route must run roughly parallel to it -- it must have wide outside lanes and and sidewalks to enable the free movement of cyclists and pedestrians.

2. The maximum speed limit within cities will be 30 mph. No street will be wider than four lanes. Three lane streets with center turn lanes will be preferred.

3. All developed lots must meet a 15 to 20 percent green space requirement.

4. Zoning codes will be loosened to allow the construction of cottages, small-lot homes, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in residential areas.

5. All "local highways" and expressways that don't serve the purpose of connecting one metropolitan area to another (i.e., non-interstate highways), will be torn down and replaced with surface streets. Interstate highways and railroad tracks must have underpasses or overpasses every quarter mile to enable easy crossing.

6. Developers shall not be mandated to provide parking spaces on site, although they will not be prohibited from doing so. If this leads to a lack of on-street parking, metering in the area shall be implemented -- fees will be adjusted for demand levels.

7. Mixed-use commercial/residential shall be permitted on busy streets.

8. Rail shall be constructed with separate right-of-ways to enable its speedy passage.

9. In order to promote the aesthetic quality of the community and to combat the urban "heat island" effect, property owners will be granted tax credits in exchange for planting one to three trees on their property.

10. Developers will also receive tax credits for constructing basements in new houses. Basements are useful for music, home gyms, mechanical projects, extra bedrooms, etc, and should be encouraged.

11. The gas tax will be raised, or replaced entirely with a vehicle mileage tax.

12. In the interest of preserving views and sunlight and preventing overcrowding, buildings taller than three floors will only be allowed on main arterial streets. Buildings taller than five floors will only be allowed in designated "city centers". Towers will be constructed mostly of glass, and there will be minimum space requirements between them.

13. The creation of parks and trails shall be encouraged. Planting street trees will be encouraged and funded by city governments.

Tabor

Really? We don't let convicted felons have guns, yet cars kill more people than guns every year in the US and still anyone with half a brain can drive a car.

Cars are the #1 killer of children over 3 years old in the US and we are more than willing to ban almost anything else "for the children"... but not cars.

Now, I don't really care if felons can own cars or guns (as long as they aren't violent felons). But I sure do wish our laws were rational and consistent.

PS- All felonies used to be violent crimes. It is relatively recently that we have a bunch of non-violent felons clogging our penal system.

Roody

There's certainly nothing wrong with you and others preferring the country to the city.

But the topic was to imagine the ideal city. I'd be interested to hear what, if anything, could be done to make cities more attractive to people like you. I know you don't want to live in the city, but what would make you want even to visit a large city for a few days? Or, at the very least, what would make cities more tolerable if you were forced to spend some time in one?

Roody

Most motor vehicle killings are not intentional murder. I don't know of any reason to believe that roads would be safer if ex-felons--even violent ones--weren't allowed to drive. Do you?