Livable Cities

"Urban planning deals with the layout and function of towns and cities. Variables within the patterns of urban development are sometimes described as the 'five D's': density, diversity, design, destination accessibility, and distance to transit." (Robertson 2014)

Im not sure how well Fort Myers was planned out. It is quickly becoming a very dense city that has a random design to it. There are neighborhoods going in everywhere; it doesn’t matter if they are next to a Walmart or if they are in an open area. I also don’t think that the public transit is that good down here. We have busses and other forms of transit but it doesn’t seem to be the easily accessible to people who live on the outskirts of the city. It would have been nice to see what Fort Myers would be like if the city planners laid it out a lot better than it currently is.

Urban Planning posted on http://urbanblightphotoessayassignment.weebly.com/

"New Urbanism is an urban design movement closely related to smart growth, focused on the elements of a neighborhood that make it attractive and successful, with a strong sense of community." (Robertson 2014)

Its cool to visit a city that is planned out in a practical way. One of the best planned out ones I can think of that is close would be Lakewood Ranch in Sarasota. It is basically a giant neighborhood that is planned so that it can operate basically by itself. They have their own schools, groceries, and entertainment within the layout of the city. You can feel a strong sense of community pride when you enter the limits. But when you go from a place like that to somewhere like Lehigh there is a big difference. Lehigh seems just has houses built basically where ever someone wanted one and there is no real plan for the neighborhood. It would have been nice if they would have thought it through and tried to plan out a nice laid out neighborhood.

Urbanism posted on http://globalbasketball.com/global-basketball-summer-league-new-york-city/

"Urban planners are working to complete the streets, that is to make them convenient and safe for all users, all travel modes, and all abilities." (Robertson 2014)

I think this could be a big step towards sustainability in many urban environments. There are a lot of bike lanes around here which is good to promote bike use instead of driving cars but I’m not sure how safe they are. Especially with Florida drivers, I think there needs to be a barrier, either concrete or plant, in between the bikes and cars. I think this would get a lot more people to ride their bikes places because it would be safer for them to do so. In cities like Vancouver there are a lot wider bike lanes that are clearly marked with green plant that gives the biker a safer ride than the ones down here. If we were to change the bike lanes down here it would take a lot of effort by civil engineers to rebuild the streets and the bike lanes that go along with them.

Safe Bike Lanes posted on http://www.bikearlington.com/pages/biking-in-arlington/bicycle-facilities/

Robertson, M. (2014). Sustainability Principles and Practice. New York, NY: Routledge.