The Sustainable City

In class we learnt about a website, walkscore, that allows you to determine the “walkability” of your neighbourhood. So I thought I would determine how walkable some of the neighbourhoods are that I have lived in. I grew up in Northern Alberta, and lived on an acerage, making getting anywhere dependant on vehicle transportation. I then moved to Edmonton to go to College.



First we’ll start with where I currently live in Victoria. I live in Langford, in between the box stores and Goldstream Ave. This area receives a walkscore of 66, and is considered somewhat walkable. I would have thought that the walkscore would have been higher for this area, but the walk to the amenities on Goldstream is a little over 10 minutes, and the site calculates a walk score based on what amenities are available within a 10 minute walk.

Langford, Victoria, BC
http://maps.google.ca/maps

Next we’ll move on to where I lived while I attended NAIT in Edmonton. I lived two and a half blocks from campus in a residential neighbourhood, and about 6 blocks from Kingsway Garden Mall. This area received a walk score of 48, and is considered car dependant. While living there, I walked to school everyday (yes even in the couple of -40°C days), walked to the mall to go to work, and after college, walked to work at the wedding rental store. The only time I ever drove anywhere was once a week to get groceries. Even if the grocery store was closer, I probably still would have driven, just because I can, and carrying all the groceries is not pleasant.



From here, lets look at where my parents live in Stony Plain, AB. They live 15 minutes outside of town, in a nice little subdivision. They get a walkscore rating of 0, and are considered to be car dependant, which they most definitely are. But this is expected, as there are no amenities around them. 

Stony Plain, AB
http://maps.google.ca/maps



This is the case as well for where I grew up in Peace River, AB. We lived on an acreage outside of town, making it completely car dependant. I think growing up in Alberta, in a lifestyle that required the use of a vehicle has made me very reliant on my car. Even though I have amenities within walking distance of my current residence, I still don’t walk anywhere. I feel that driving is an ingrained habit within me from childhood. 

Peace River, AB. The Red "x" is where I grew up outside of town
http://maps.google.ca/maps

Communities within Alberta are not designed to be walking friendly. Everything is spread out across the community, and the areas that are walkable, such as Whyte Ave in Edmonton, you need some mode of transportation to get there in the first place. I have travelled to England, and we did not have a vehicle to get around the various towns while we were there. We did use the train and buses to get between towns, but once there, a car was not needed. Getting around London was a breeze with access to the underground, and once we got to where we want to be, we walked EVERYWHERE. Not just because we didn’t  have a vehicle, but because it was easy to get where we wanted to go be it the grocery store, shopping, or to a pub. Being an older city, I fell that it was designed with that purpose in mind; access to amenities in just a short few minute walk. I think that aspect makes a city more sustainable. Another example is Buenos Aires. My parents were there for two weeks, and said that they were able to walk everywhere. There were so many streets that met up with each other, cut in between buildings, that it was very easy to get where you needed.
 

Buenos Aires, Argentina
http://maps.google.ca/maps



London, UK
 http://maps.google.ca/maps



In the future, I think more cities, and new neighbourhoods need to be designed with that in mind; all major amenities within walking distance. Rather than building an area in a block formation, build it in the old style, with many small street that interconnect, and create “shortcuts” to get places. I think that may help to break the driving habit of some Albertans. Albertans do seem to have the mentality that they want their own space. So perhaps a city designed like the old European or South American cities would not work.