Here is a report that confirms many of the things that have been preached on this site. Will our leaders embrace and design for it?
QuoteSections of Jacksonville where it's a short walk to shopping, dining, movies, parks and libraries are holding real estate values better than subdivisions where residents have to travel by car for the same things, a national study contends.
The report, "Walking the Walk - How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities," was commissioned by CEOs for Cities and prepared by Portland, Ore.-based Impresa Inc. The report rated 15 cities on a basis of how much of those cities were walkable, or had residential areas within easy walking distance of places people regularly want or need to go.
"It's all about the destinations," said report author Joe Cortright.
Of the cities, Jacksonville was 14th with a Walkscore.com walkability score of 36 out of 100, while eight other cities - most of which were medium-sized cities located in the Western half of the U.S. - got scores of 50 or lower.
Most of Jacksonville's most walkable areas are in communities like Riverside, San Marco and Springfield, as well as downtown itself.
But most of the city's suburban places have a dearth of walkable areas, because much of them have been built since World War II, when development switched to a focus on travel by car. So in Jacksonville and 12 other profiled cities, property values held best in the older and mixed-use areas of town. Only Las Vegas, Nev., and Bakersfield, Calif. defied the trend, the report said.
full article: http://www.jacksonville.com/business/2009-09-13/story/homes_with_walkability_command_higher_premium
It was a good article, I would have thought the "city planners of MJ", would have embraced it, but apparently only a handfull read the the actual Sunday Paper for Jax.
I don't think you will get sidewalks built in all of the suburbs, especially when you have other priorities. The number of septic tanks is appalling and the lack of city muscle to demand that they be shut down and use City Water shows when there are thousands of septic tanks still in use. These tanks contribute to the problems, algae, in the river and seem to be a far better cause for action than the sidewalks.
To put sidewalks along Mandarin Road would require drainage pipes along the road, a complete change in Mandarin Road and the patience of Mandarin patrons. So many people still have septic tanks there, and no city water. Its crazy. This is but one example, and there are still thousands more.
I didn't think adding sidewalks along Mandarin Road or changing the suburbs were the main point of the article but I'll go back and re-read.
only a matter of time b4 springfield reaches riverside, avondale, & san marco's mass appeal
Shockingly, Southside Blvd. seems to have the strip-mall version of Riverside/San Marco/Springfield/Avondale thing going on... most of the apartments/condos/houses right around the Tinseltown area are walking distance to groceries, movies, and restaurants... although nothing tremendously interesting...