Technically my wife and I moved to Minneapolis, at least in the city limits. We’re currently renting a home with a Walk Score of 74 (Transit Score of 47 and Bike Score of 66 all out of 100). The location is great, except two pieces. Neither of us work in the neighborhood, a huge change from our condo in Denver or our apartment in St. Louis before that. Both times my wife worked at a hospital within 3 blocks (1 block in Denver).
We’re a one-car family with two children, both of whom will be in daycare starting next month. While they’re at the same facility, it’s not in the neighborhood. We could find a place closer, but we like the people and the curriculum, plus there’s a gym and pool, making it an efficient use of our time and money to send them to the same place we workout. It’s not inexpensive, unfortunately, and there are very few options for housing close by that make sense since it is in a suburb. I use quasi-suburb in the title because the area we are in feels like one in the sense that there is little to no opportunity to have gainful employment. Neighborhood design has failed to include these types of work options (industry, business, higher education, etc). New Urbanism starts to bridge the gap, but often times these planned communities – although that conjures images of tract housing thoughtlessly laid down in swirling patterns of endless ranch homes each with their own garage and plot of grass – end up serving as de facto suburbs where people commute into the closest commercial hub. For an example, I present The Kentlands outside Washington DC. Undoubtedly, New Urbanist design is a major step in the right direction.
Back to the one car issue. The cost and relative infrequency which we would use a second car make it cost prohibitive; truly unsustainable. Car shares are a great idea, but it does not necessarily seem like the innovation that would go over with the neighborhood. Megan’s piece a month or so back about community is an important one here. Going to your neighbor’s for a cup of sugar or to borrow a lawnmower (preferably an old-fashioned push mower) is akin in many ways to sharing a car. Issues of trusts and common understanding, respect for other people’s belongings, are not strong suits of ours. In a me first society, it often feels as though there is little room for common ground. I wrote about a microcosm of the Tragedy of the Commons last week. That exemplifies my point.
I ride the bus to work now. It helps get around the one car-work far from home dichotomy, but it means less time with my family. We all make sacrifices, but we need to keep their cost in mind as well.
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