Walkability in the Time of Padgett? But that's not walkable at all, is it?

In this kind of pass-through community, our self-smug pillars work assiduously to prevent walkability from happening, seeking to keep our streets "safe" and "free" for fast-moving, heavy traffic, while navigating their gas-guzzlers around the block for lunch.

It's time to call their bluff, isn't it?

Walking Makes Strides in All Kinds of Communities, by Jay Walljasper (Strong Towns)

Imagine living in one of America’s great walkable communities.

Your day begins with a stroll—saying hi to neighbors, noticing blooming gardens and enticing shop windows, maybe stopping for a treat on your way to work.

Weekends are even better. You step out your door and join the hum of activity on the sidewalk en route to a coffeeshop, park, shopping district, friend’s home, recreation center or house of worship.

More time on your feet provides an opportunity to reflect on your life (you feel more energetic and creative now that you’re not driving all the time) and your community (it feels more alive now that everyone walks more). Even driving is more fun than it used to be with fewer cars clogging the streets.

And the really good news is that you don’t need to move to another town or a more expensive neighborhood to enjoy these pleasures. Any community can become more walkable if people are willing to get off the couch to make a difference.

"51 (Mostly) Simple Ways to Spark a Commons Revolution."

More radicalism for a quiet, foggy morning after. Thanks to NA First for the link.

51 (Mostly) Simple Ways to Spark a Commons Revolution: What you can do to make a better world, by Jay Walljasper

E.F. Schumacher (author of Small is Beautiful) gave us some good advice about how to restore the commons when he said, “Perhaps we cannot raise the wind. But each of us can put up the sail, so that when the wind comes we can catch it.” Even in these tough times, the breeze of change is beginning to blow.
Here’s a handy list of ways you can raise the sail in your own community and life, reprinted from On the Commons new book All That We Share: A Field Guide to the Commons . And we’re sure these simple suggestions will encourage you to find more of your own ideas.