What can you get to within a 15-minute walk of your house?

A recent YouGov survey asked Americans what they think they should be able to get to within a 15-minute walk of their house.

Of these choices, I can currently walk to all of them from my apartment, aside from a university (no biggie, I’m not currently studying, although there is a Tafe within walking distance), a hospital, and a sports arena.

How many can you get to with a 15 minute walk from your house?

#fuckcars #walkability #urbanism #UrbanPlanning @fuck_cars #walking

  • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nlEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    What can you get to within a 15-minute walk of your house?

    Plz don’t dox me. Based on Google Maps.

    Amenity Walking Biking Public transport Car
    Grocery store ❌ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
    Park ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
    Pharmacy ❌ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
    Bus stop ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
    Restaurant ❌ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
    Post office ❌ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
    Bank ❌ ✔️ ❌ ✔️
    Gas station ❌ ✔️ ❌ ✔️
    Elementary school ❌ ✔️ ❌ ✔️
    Day care centre ❌ ✔️ ❌ ✔️
    Hospital ❌ ❌ ❌ ✔️
    Barber shop/hairdresser ✔️ ✔️ ✔️ ✔️
    Shopping mall ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
    Movie theater ❌ ✔️ ❌ ✔️
    Bar ✔️ ✔️ ❌ ✔️
    Sports arena ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌

    I pity the fool who tries to do all of this with their car, though. Sure, you can drive to these places within 15 minutes, but then you’ll spend half an hour looking for a free parking spot or paying several euros per hour. Except for the grocery store, I guess, that’s got a parking lot that’ll fit 20 cars.

    Weird situations I’ve found:

    • It’s quicker to walk to the bank than to take the bus. A weird combination of hub-and-spoke bus routes and the place where I live.
    • The elementary school and day care centers aren’t close to each other at all, unless the schools also offer day care (I didn’t look into this)
    • Public transport isn’t geared towards bar visitors. Buses stop around midnight, so if you’re going out drinking, you’ll be in for a long walk (or just take your bike and hope you don’t get caught)
    • For how few people I see in parks, they’re remarkably well-connected.
    • I know trains are just a meme in America, but I would’ve at least expected mention of trams or a metro.
    • Who the hell walks to a gas station?
    • Amenities I’d miss based on solely these topics: city hall, train station, parking garage, GP, playground, swimming pool.

    I think stuffing all of these services into 15 minutes of walking is quite difficult and inefficient. I think designing cities around (electric) bikes is a lot better than designing everything to be within walking distance. This will also allow for basic road infrastructure so trucks can supply stores and people can get to parking garages for out-of-city parking in case they need to go anywhere.

    This is actually a pretty good idea for a web app of some kind. Grab OpenStreetMap’s data and map out what areas are covered within several time windows (5-15-30-60 minutes) to find the best places to live. Maybe calculate a score of some kind.

      • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nlEnglish
        0·
        1 year ago

        But surely you wouldn’t need to go to a gas station if there’s a grocery store nearby instead? Or just put “convenience store” in there, which would probably be better.

        • WalrusDragonOnABike [they/them]@reddthat.com
          0·
          1 year ago

          Groceries stores are usual huge. If you just want a single item, could still be 10+ minutes from getting to the edge of the parking lot to getting back to the edge of the parking lot with that one item. With a convenience store, its like 3 minutes.

          Personally, I still rather go to the grocery store since they’re generally a lot cheaper and have more options.

          • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl
            0·
            1 year ago

            I suppose you have very different standards for grocery stores. You can definitely get in and out in three minutes (depending on the line at the checkout) in the ones I have nearby.