Steak and Dessert Urbanism
I can’t stop thinking of this framing about one of the big current debates in urbanism by Addison Del Mastro:
I think a lot of critics of urbanism/walkability/etc. think that what we’re saying is, essentially, “eat your vegetables” — that we agree with them that these things are inferior and inconvenient, and that we simply want to make their lives more inconvenient. For the vast majority of urbanists, it is the exact opposite. We believe these options have been artificially rendered inferior, by bad policy, and we want to restore the competitiveness and convenience of alternatives to driving everywhere/big-box retail, etc.
Del Mastro was responding to a reader asking if urban neighborhoods can accomadate big-box retail like Target or Wal-Mart. But I think he hit on something deeper about the way a lot of modern urban neighborhoods work for the people that live in them.
For suburbanites going to work, or to get groceries, or going out for a night out on the town all of these actions are inconvenient in the same way; you need to get in your car and drive somewhere. For a lot of people in urban neighborhoods, especially the urban neighborhoods that have undergone economic growth* in the past few decades, those things are not equally inconvienent. Going out for a night on the town, or to the farmer’s market, or getting a cup of coffee is walkable, but the boring errands life demands of you still require a car. It is likely your commute still requires a car. You’ve got steak and dessert right there, but there are no vegetables.
What urbanists are asking for is for neighborhoods to include grocery stores, pharmacies, and other places of business where we can run boring errands. Improved public transit and bike infrastructure so that our commutes are possible without a car. We want vegetables with our meal!
For urbanites the idea of a 15 minute city is one that is more convenient than their current city. Del Mastro again:
“Walk to the store” or “take transit” or “shop locally” should not be like “eat your vegetables.” We will not browbeat people into behaving the “right way” out of a sense of obligation or abstraction. These things should be pleasant. They should be competitive options on the merits.
If I want to wake up on a Saturday morning and go get a cup of coffee, check out a book store, buy a new pair of shoes, or get lunch I can do that on foot. And it would be lovely! It would be a fundamentally pleasant experience! I would like the option to go get groceries to be just as pleasant! We don’t want just steak and dessert, we want a healthy well balanced meal.
*I know you think there’s a different word I should have used there, but that’s complicated. I want to flesh out my thoughts about how truly insane it is that we end up with fancy restaurants, bars, and boutiques before we get grocery stores and pharmacies in urban neighborhoods before I hit publish.
