Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
the notion that any american metro area of any significant size is walkable is beyond absurd in my opinion. all of our metro areas sprawl way beyond the limits of what is practically walkable for a given human being.
what i would find to be a profoundly more meaningful exercise would be to a find a way to quantify metro areas on the basis of which ones are the most alternate-transportation friendly (ie. walking, biking, transit, anything that's not a personal automobile). or put more simply, which metro areas are best for the car-free individual?
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What metro areas are best for the car free individual over a series of income ranges?
Car free and a 30K income in the NYC boroughs might be pretty hardcore. Car free and making 150k makes Lower Manhattan affordable (350 to 400 sq/ft studio apartment).
Actually, the best cities for the lower income car free individual, IMO, would tend to be university towns- rental costs are relatively low and cultural amenities relatively good. At the high population end, Madison Wisconsin. At the small end, maybe Lawrence, KS (population ~50k).
I guess what one should do would be include those cities that are part of a metro-area, like Boulder, CO, or Davis, CA, both of which are bike friendly.