Prior to World War II our towns and cities were designed, for the most part, so we could walk to work, walk to school and walk to the neighborhood grocery store. With the gas rationing imposed by the war only a memory by the late 1940's, our communities began to be planned and built around the use of the automobile. That trend has continued to this day. Now we are wrestling with the many problems, including sprawl and traffic congestion, spawned by this long-term trend.

Not long ago when computer modems were slow, the www on the internet was jokingly referred to as the "World Wide Wait". Now internet connections are getting faster and the World Wide Wait should refer instead to the traffic on our streets and highways as it moves slower and slower. Will we see this kind of epitaph someday in the 21st century? "Poor commuter John Jones. He was a good man but he died sadly and quietly yesterday in his car with his Starbucks in one hand and his cell phone in the other while a-waitin for the traffic to move in the World Wide Wait." While that epitaph is in jest, what is not so funny are the nasty side effects from our wild love affair with the automobile and the resulting sprawling communities that cover our landscape. To name a few-- our loss of a real sense of community; our loss of valuable land to asphalt and concrete; the negative effects of traffic congestion on trade and commerce; the large expense of owning, maintaining and insuring a car; poor air quality; the effects on inner cities left behind by car-oriented suburban developments; the detrimental effects on our health of choosing driving over walking; the extra time spent waiting in traffic that could be spent with family, a friend, walking for health or some other more rewarding pursuit.

Long before President Clinton and Vice President Gore declared these problems to be a national priority, there have been movements across the country looking for answers to solving them. Drumbeats for change have been heard for some time from scattered tribes of astute citizens advocating a "new urbanism", "urban boundaries" and "livable communities". They have been saying that the communities we have built over the last 50 years have serious flaws and in too many cases are simply breaking down and not working like they should. They are also saying that there are better alternatives if we can break out of the patterns we have used for so long. And just maybe, we can look back and put some new clothes on an older model that used to work.

Please take the time to find out more about the various aspects of what makes a more walkable and livable community by looking at the links below. Also take a look at some projects in our Sacramento region that are good examples of walkable/livable communities.

Bye-Bye Suburban Dream- A 1995 article from Newsweek magazine describing the problems with suburban sprawl in Phoenix- the city that seems to keep growing forever.
15 Ways To Fix The Suburbs- The still timely companion article to the one above from Newsweek.
Smart Growth and Earl Blumenauer- A Washington Post Article about the progressive congressman from Oregon and the Livable Communities Task Force that he iniated. Also take a look at Earl Blumenauer's web site to see what he envisions for livable communities.
Building Liveable Communities- A walkable/livable community is an important element in the Sierra Club's national Challenge to Sprawl Campaign.
Walkable Communities, Inc.- A non-profit organization that helps communities become more walkable and pedestrian friendly.
Smart Development - Explains the concept of compact, pedestrian-, bicycle-, and transit friendly development from Oregon's Transportation Growth Management Team.
Street Design Guidelines for Healthy Neighborhoods- This guidebook identifies better ways to design new neighborhoods or retrofit existing ones to be more healthy, interactive, walkable, enjoyable and liveable.
Local Street Improvements- A report on new street standards for residential streets in Portland, Oregon.
Narrow Streets Database- This database includes communities that have recently adapted reduced street standards.
Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan- An excellent planning and design manual for pedestrian and bicycle transportation from the state of Oregon.
Road Diets- Fixing the Big Roads- Excellent guide by Dan Burden and Peter Lagerwey on how to make wide or "fat" streets leaner, safer and more efficient. This is a pdf document and you will need to have Acrobat Reader to view it. You can download Acrobat Reader free from Adobe.
An article from Feed online magazine titled Sprawl in America.
An article from the Sacramento Bee, June 11, 2000, titled "Urban sprawl is social engineering that's aniti-social".