Suburban walking blues

Let me get this out of the way right up front: I am an American. I have been visiting Vancouver for years, most recently on a beautiful spring day last April to give a speech sponsored by UBC and SFU. On the same day, I took a tour of Metro Vancouver’s walkable neighbourhoods with folks from Smart Growth BC, getting a first-hand experience of what it’s like to walk and take public transit in this region.

I must also mention that since Vancouver is widely considered to be one of the most walkable, livable and vital cities on the planet, it is with great humility that I comment on a place that is much more vital than nearly any U.S. city.

But I will comment, because I want to encourage Vancouver to continue to offer the U.S. a model of walkable urban development that we need so badly. more...