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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Urban Planet: Making the Case for Walkable Communities

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Urban Planet is a daily roundup of blogs from around the world dealing specifically with urban environments. We’ll be on the lookout for websites outside the country that approach themes related to urban experiences and issues.

After running up against a brick wall when talking to big box developers about walkability, consultant Mariela Alfonzo realized that she needed a different approach. Their focus on the bottom line, to the exclusion of all other considerations, convinced her that walkability needed an economic argument if it was to make a dent. Towards this end, Alfonzo created a State of Place index, which she considers to be more fine grained than the popular Walk Score. Her hope is that the tool will help to make the economic case for good pedestrian environments. (The Atlantic Cities)

Image from The Atlantic Cities

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2 comments

  1. Thanks for this Hilary.

    When is the Media ever going to take the Toronto Community Planning Department to task over its abysmal record when it comes to planning for the public realm? We’re being pushed aside by greedy developers aided and abetted by our own Staff.

  2. also aided and abetted by our own “political representatives”…. not just current office holders… but generations of them.