2 responses to “Contents of a 20-minute Neighborhood”
Depending on traffic, my 20 minute neighborhood includes just about everything between Gresham and downtown Portland, Clackamas Town Center, and east Vancouver.
We have a very complete motorist-oriented road and highway network which has been built up over many decades. It performs quite well for the types of trips you describe.
Unfortunately, the bicycle network is quite incomplete, even in Portland. Pedestrian networks are in better shape, but land-use patterns often make important daily life trip needs difficult or impossible to complete by walking. Transit, which depends on schedule reliability for smooth operations, gets disadvantaged and sidelined too often in the main road network.
Now that we have a great (but under-maintained) road/highway network for cars, it’s time to balance that equation with enhancing and restoring “habitat” for pedestrians and other modes.
That’s why the “20 minute neighborhood” concept is a great way of examining the multifaceted problems for meeting many of our daily needs locally through non-motorized, in addition to motorized transportation.
2 responses to “Contents of a 20-minute Neighborhood”
Depending on traffic, my 20 minute neighborhood includes just about everything between Gresham and downtown Portland, Clackamas Town Center, and east Vancouver.
Try that on a bike.
Anthony, that is an excellent point.
We have a very complete motorist-oriented road and highway network which has been built up over many decades. It performs quite well for the types of trips you describe.
Unfortunately, the bicycle network is quite incomplete, even in Portland. Pedestrian networks are in better shape, but land-use patterns often make important daily life trip needs difficult or impossible to complete by walking. Transit, which depends on schedule reliability for smooth operations, gets disadvantaged and sidelined too often in the main road network.
Now that we have a great (but under-maintained) road/highway network for cars, it’s time to balance that equation with enhancing and restoring “habitat” for pedestrians and other modes.
That’s why the “20 minute neighborhood” concept is a great way of examining the multifaceted problems for meeting many of our daily needs locally through non-motorized, in addition to motorized transportation.