Sunday, June 3, 2007

A Walkable City

No matter the size of the city we've encountered on this trip we have never been too far away to walk to provide all of our necessities. Somehow they manage density without high-rises anywhere we've been in Italy and still manage to fit people in close enough to the city center to access goods and services. They have perfected mixed use here with apartments stacked upon stores and offices above stores everywhere. Space is a different concept here- people use so much less but it still works. The grocery store only has two aisles yet I can still buy everything I need. My friend's house sleeps six comfortably in the size of my upstairs.

Its difficult to find anything here that is purely residential. This results in increased usage of public space that would be ignored in North America because no one here has a yard. Overall we see a more sociable and connected community that minimizes its impact on the surrounding environs. We when embrace the suburban dream we lose a connection with others that is enviable to watch and sit amidst.

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