Why Cul-de-Sacs Are Bad For Your Health

[ghettopalmetto]

This excerpt touches on a few topics that arise in various threads regarding transportation, redevelopment, and pedestrian amenities. It concerns the spatial arrangement of the Atlanta metropolis. I think there are lessons here applicable to Detroit. Comments from the peanut gallery encouraged.

...a white male living in Midtown, near Atlanta’s downtown, is likely to weigh 10 pounds less than his identical twin living near Mableton, a sprawling suburb. This is partly owing to road geometry and land-use mix: a 10-minute walk from a home amid the traditional grid in Midtown will get you to grocery stores, schools, bus stops, cafés, a bank, and the glorious lawns of Piedmont Park. But the spread-out and homogeneous system of Mableton pushes destinations beyond walking range, which means residents are likely to drive whether they like driving or not.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2...ontgomery.html

[oladub]

I have a son who lives that lifestyle downtown Minneapolis. It is eye opening seeing the adaptations to condo living. So much is connected with indoor walkways. So he can walk his son a few blocks to the Y for swimming lessons or do some shopping without putting a jacket on. The other side of the equation is that parking is such a hassle that it makes sense to walk.

Raising children is different without a backyard. Parents have to take their children to the park and stay there while children play. Otherwise, the children have to pretty much stay indoors without a backyard. As kids get older, this is less of a problem as the kids can meet up and find things to do together.

One problem in Minneapolis is that when the kids reach school age, parents often make the move to the suburbs because downtown schools mean ghetto schools or expensive private schools. Yuppie parents in downtown Minneapolis are petitioning the school district to build a new school in downtown Minneapolis so their kids can be with more kids like themselves. This sounds like racial tribalism but that's what I'm seeing. I don't think these people care about the races of their kids' classmates but they have social class expectations about their kids' educations.

Retired baby boomers are also flowing into downtown condos to age in place with more to do around them without driving and shoveling.

On the other hand, I've read that people who live in cul-de-sacs very much like the small intimate community each affords; something the planners seem to ignore perhaps in their arrogance.

[Hermod]

What is the life expectancy of a man in Detroit versus a man living out by 32 mile road?

[canuck]

What is the life expectancy of a man in Detroit versus a man living out by 32 mile road?

I gotta hand it to you Hermod, you can be purdy sharp. Also, you stumped me on the choo choo post.