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SnoozeDoggyDog t1_j1tjjvi wrote

Exactly how could places like New York be turned into 'walkable cities'?

EDIT: Also, how would this benefit the disabled and infirm in terms of mobility?

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mocha_sweetheart OP t1_j1trs58 wrote

  1. Uh, I don't know if you've heard, but everyone from Manhattan calls it an EXTREMELY walkable community... Tons of people in more compact cities talk about how they can often get away with not needing a car to get to work etc.
  2. I think you're taking "walkable" too literally, it just means a community where stuff like motor vehicles aren't needed, which is actually way better for the disabled; currently it's a lot harder for people who are disabled to drive and as a result get a good job in America outside of tightly-knit cities, source on this below. It's even harder for them to travel long distances in non-walkable communities because of easier risk of things like being run over. Contrast to walkable cities where everything is far more compacted together and easier to access.

Only one-fifth of people age 18 to 64 work full- or part-time if they have travel-limiting disabilities. This percentage declined from previous years. In contrast, over three-quarters of people without disabilities age 18 to 64 work.Slightly over half of people age 18 to 64 with disabilities live in households with annual household incomes under $25,000 versus 15 percent of people without disabilities.Over one-fifth of non-workers and 12 percent of workers age 18 to 64 with disabilities live in zero-vehicle households. Source: https://www.bts.gov/travel-patterns-with-disabilities

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