Is Your Community Walkable? Check. Urban? Check. Rural? Also Check.

I often describe myself as an urbanist. I find it a useful shorthand for a set of ideas about how places ought to be built and laid out, one which roughly translates to the traditional, pre-automobile development pattern. “Urbanism” to me means the following:

• Places are built to the human scale, and around the needs of people who walk.

• The development pattern is compact, without a lot of wasted space, and streets are places for human activity, not high-speed traffic.

• There are 15-minute neighborhoods where you can meet your needs on foot.

• There are welcoming streets and third places that encourage people to live a large chunk of their lives in public, with the serendipitous social interaction that that entails.