For a very thorough and extremely well illustrated explanation of the advantages of narrow streets, please see these definitive posts by A.A. Price: Human-Scale Streets and Narrow Streets. A.A. Price’s posts demonstrate viscerally the aesthetic value of narrow streets. But how can we quantify this quality? First, we must look at what we mean by street width; does it refer to the width of the road itself, or the … Continue reading Narrow Streets Index
Minneapolis: . . Short Block Index ~3. For the purposes of calculating the SBI, Nicollet Mall counts as a street, because it carries a high volume of pedestrian traffic. I have chosen not to count the Skyway intersections, because the Skyway system in Minneapolis is not well integrated with the city streets, physically or socially. Number of businesses* shown at 100 foot scale: 31. (*businesses of … Continue reading Versus! – Downtowns: Minneapolis vs Toronto
Mill City: . . Short Block Index ~3.5 Google Street View from Chicago Ave & S 2nd Street: The border of the “Mill District” is defined by this seven lane hell-scape: . Loring Park East: . At 100 foot scale: Short Block Index ~3.5 (same as Mill City) . Google Street View from LaSalle Ave & W 14th St: . Category :: Mill City :: Loring … Continue reading Versus! – Minneapolis Edition – Mill City vs Loring Park East
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