Livability and the role of TransportationLivability and the role of Transportation

Where do we go from here?Where do we go from here?

People once fled cities … for their health …

Today people are returning to cities …

Portland, Oregon

… for their health

Tennessee Avenue, Tallahassee, Florida

Living-in-Place in America's Aging Cities and Suburbs

Dan Burden, Co-Founder of Walkable and Livable Communities InstitutePort Townsend, Washington

AARP and Portland State University Institute on Aging

By Dan Burden Livable and Walkable Communities Institute

"Walkable Communities:  What Makes A Community Walkable and Livable?

Living in Place remaining in one's home and neighborhood safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level. It means the pleasure of living in a familiar environment throughout one's maturing years, and the ability to enjoy the familiar daily rituals and the special events that enrich all our lives.

(National Association of Home Builders)

Living In Place

Living in Place

Aging in Place

As we age our need for association will continue to grow

Keene, New Hampshire

Walkable Communities will Grow with and Accommodate our demographic trends and needs.

As we age access to gentle, friendly exercise will be vital

“What is the first thing an infant wants to do and the last thing an older person wants to give up?”

Walking is the exercisethat does not need a gym. It is the prescription without medicine, the weight control without diet, and the cosmetic that can’t be found in a chemist. It is the tranquilizer without a pill, the therapy without a psychoanalyst, and the holiday that does not cost a penny. What’s more, it does not pollute, consumes few natural resources and is highly efficient. Walking is convenient, it needs no special equipment, is self-regulating and inherently safe.”

“What is the first thing an infant wants to do and the last thing an older person wants to give up?”

What percentage of Americans do not live in a place where aging-in-place will work?

Answer: : 60-80%

If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic.

If you plan for people and places, you get people and places.

HAVING LESS OF THIS…

REQUIRES MORE OF THIS…

“Automobiles are often conveniently tagged as the villains responsible for the ills of cities and the disappointments and futilities of city planning. But the destructive effects of automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence at city building.

The simple needs of automobiles are more easily understood and satisfied than the complex needs of cities, and a growing number of planners and designers have come to believe that if they can only solve the problems of traffic, they will thereby have solved the major problems of cities.Cities have much more intricate economic and social concerns than automobile traffic. How can you know what to try with traffic until

you know how the city itself works, and what else it needs to do with its streets? You can't.”

Jane Jacobs, Death and Life of Great American Cities , 1961

The notion of combining land use and transportation is not new

Is this an age-friendly place?

As we age our walking speed slows. This woman took twice as long to get into the street as the younger people. Once in the street it took her three times as long to get to the far side.

What’s Wrong Here?

America’s Wealthiest County

What the

Community

ProvidedWhat the Customer

Wanted

What the

Community

Provided

What the Customer

Wanted

Who we built forWho we did not build for

Who we built forWho we did not build for

Who we built forWho we did not build for

Thirty percent of North Americans old enough to drive do not drive. This percentage is increasing.

The Pedestrian in America has been marginalized compromised to Death

Is this the landscape we want to leave our children?

From Blight to Boom – Reimaging 3rd Street

As we age access to healthy foods will be critical

As we age access to healthy foods will be critical

Twenty years ago Kirkland, Washington declared it would not overly accommodate peak hour SOV travel. Instead they chose to grow “place”, and to focus on the health of its community and people.

This street was formerly a strip streetThis street and surrounding blocks once had a housing density around 6-7 du/acre.

This neighborhood is now one of the most sought after places to live, shop, work or play.

This neighborhood has tripled its density.Property values increased ten fold.Most of the original homes are still in place.

This is Broadway, in Vancouver, B.C.

The Illustrative Plan (above) is the result of this planning approach; it shows the hypothetical buildout of the corridor, locating building footprints (newand existing), open space, and parking areas. The corridor was divided into four study areas, the Western Gateway, the Neighborhood Center, the Village Center, and the Town Center. Each area has it’s own unique characteristics and challenges which were addressed.

Quick sketches were done to study buildings that would result from the hypothetical building footprints in the Illustrative Plan, combined with the proposed height limits in the study areas and potential architectural regulations of the new code. each street, which corresponds to written code regulations.

Marine Drive, Dundarave, B.C.

Highway 93, Missoula, Montana

USA

Canada

Marine Drive, Dundarave, B.C.

Building from our Values

QualityOf Life

In building facilities to accommodate cars……we often forget about the people

Depressive Disorders

19 million American adults

• Leading cause of disability in the USA

• Treatment:

• Medication

• Social Contact, including therapy

• And…..

I shopped for a house, but I forgot to shop for a community to live in

…Cheryl

from a suburban Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Neighborhood

Florida has the lowest rate of volunteerism in the nation.

What is that all about?

As we age our need for walking increases GREATLY Why?

Bridgeport Way, University Place, WashingtonBridgeport Way, University Place, Washington

Marine Drive, Dundarave, B.C.

Bridgeport (1999)

We need access to:

• Health care• Shelter• Food• Exercise• Friends

Yes and No. The housing Americans need most in their senior years has not been built yet.

Are we building the right housing stock?

Affordable homes and lifestyles must be built in the right places, the right sizes and mix. We are overbuilding housing we do not need, and failing to build housing we need.

In about half of central Ohio’s suburbs, those who teach the children, patrol the neighborhoods and put out the fires can’t afford to live among the people they serve.

Exclusionary: any community that did not allow for more than 8 residential units per acre.

Exclusionary ZoningWorkforce Housing

"Granville will never allow it to happen," said Officer Keith Blackledge. He and fellow officers have tried for two years to unionize their department to get higher pay, perhaps enough to enable them to live in the Licking County village 35 miles east of Columbus. "Police officers in any neighborhood are going to be good for everyone," said Officer Jon Davis. "Just having them there will improve the quality of the neighborhood."

Exclusionary ZoningWorkforce Housing

Which neighborhood is more age friendly?

Beacon Hill, Boston

1550 feet from THE CHEERS BAR, 6 other bars, 8 deli’s, 4 banks, 3 hardware stores, 2 florists, 18 restaurants, 5 churches, grocer, pharmacist, medical and dozens more.

1550 feet from THE CHEERS BAR, 6 other bars, 8 deli’s, 4 banks, 3 hardware stores, 2 florists, 18 restaurants, 5 churches, grocer, pharmacist, medical and dozens more.

America’s First Development

Orlando, Florida

1550 feet fromNOTHING1550 feet fromNOTHING

Such places do not sprout by happenstance. Driven by irresistible

economic forces and shaped by subtly shifting social patterns, they are being

created, down to the tiniest detail, by a handful of major developers with a

master plan for the new America. …. NY

Times, August 15, 2005

Santa Barbara, California

Complete StreetsComplete Streets

Every blizzard proves motorists prefer two lane roads

Indeed they place medians and edge buffers on 4-lane roads when they get to design them (before snow plows arrive). So why not convert to 2-3 lanes, when conditions allow?

Abbott Road, E. Lansing, Michigan

This 5-lane Main Street was converted to…

Pottstown PA

This: One less travel lane; bike lanes; parallel to back-in diagonal parking on one side; new pavement

1800 vehicles per hourper lane

800 vehicles per hourPer lane

Road Diets

BenefitsMotorist: Safety 25- 40% improvement

Traffic moves with greater uniformity

Compact intersections more efficient

Greater cost savings

Turns are easier

Senior friendly (as motorists)

Others:

Senior friendly (as pedestrians)

Supports transit, walking and bicycling

Emergency response friendly

Increased property values (and tax base)

Community economic development

California Street, Mountain View, California

Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, ConnecticutSpeed reductions of 3-7

mph are common

Speed reductions of 3-7

mph are common