the joys of walking in cities

join a community on the street

Last night I drove the scenic route home, enjoying little traffic, a cool breeze, and many of the L.A. landmarks I don’t get to see often—from Century City back to Echo Park along Wilshire Boulevard.

Peaceful night drives are special. No chaos, no rush, just good tunes and the city’s bright lights.

Too bad most car trips aren’t like that. 

For most of us and for most trips, driving is a drag (and a race). It’s clunky and aggravating, and is more dangerous than most people realize. 

It’s increasingly expensive too. There’s parking and fueling, maintenance and cleaning. Theft.

Walking is our natural state, and when the conditions are right, there’s much to appreciate about walking: Exercise, scenery, and the ability to multitask are just a few reasons walking can be so satisfying.

A movement is building of urbanites who are fed up with automobile-centricity and are choosing to walk instead (combined with the use of public transit), even if it takes longer.

Here’s why.

Driving is a trap

The ability and tendency to drive contributes to our over-scheduled lives, always rushing from one thing to the next without enjoying the journey or the view.

With a car, we ambitiously tick off our errands, only to be exhausted by congestion, drained and irritable by day’s end. 

Even though I don’t own a car or drive all the time, when I do I quickly feel more stress and anxiety. Having a car only adds complication rather than a sense of freedom.

Walking is the antidote, and it forces a slower pace of both movement and attention. It’s also good exercise, an extra benefit.

Things you see in the neighborhood on the Fourth of July

---

We Americans have built most of our cities in the last 100 years, prioritizing the car over the pedestrian, which has given us great “gifts” like suburban sprawl, freeway blight-belts, and a never ending battle with paved surface parking that contribute to the inhospitable feel of many downtowns and suburban big box commercial areas.

Vox’s Muizz Akhtar posits that our poor urban planning has made us lonely, our friendships harder to maintain, and opportunities for random encounters with our neighbors less frequent.

Traversing cities on foot and making use of public transit can be challenging and uncomfortable, and are considered the least favorable methods of travel, reserved for the poor. 

But does it have to be?

L.A.

Los Angeles has the reputation of being one of the least walkable cities in the U.S. thanks to its massive spread, though I believe that’s an overstatement.

Within most neighborhoods of LA, even in the Valley, a notoriously auto-centric area, you’re likely to see lots of people on sidewalks, at crosswalks, and using public transit. I was surprised by this.

Because the entire region is so auto-oriented and traffic can be awful, many choose to stay in their neighborhoods and simplify their movements for their own sanity.

LAFD’s Task Force 29 tucked into Station 29 on a recent walk through Wilshire Vista

---

I’ve not owned a car in several years, in part because I started in San Francisco, a dense city famous for its walkable urban space. 

While living in a suburb of SF, I struggled without a vehicle, having to mix rideshares, borrowing others’ cars, using transit, and walking to get around. Once I moved into town and got the hang of the bus system, it was easier to hop on and hop off.

Life in LA without a car has been more of a curious experiment. I can afford a car again, but have chosen not to get one because I work from home and don’t commute other than to the gym. The necessity for a vehicle is mostly for fun and errands.

When I first moved to LA I was self-conscious because so few others were on the sidewalk with me in the Miracle Mile neighborhood. In my current post in Filipinotown, an older and more urban part of the city, I’m surrounded by vibrant street life.

There are corner fruit vendors, neighbors walking their dogs, and a cast of characters who hang out in front of the carniceria. Sunset Boulevard and the commercial centers of both Silver Lake and Echo Park are about 20 minutes in either direction.

The absence of a car has also been helpful financially, and so the experiment has stuck. 

I’m comfortable now with my options for travel and with my life as a walker—sans bills and other operating costs.

I estimate a savings of between $600 and $900 each month, which frees me to not stress about the pricing for long Lyft trips.

Read my post about borrowing things to understand how I’ve found a happy equilibrium without owning a car.

I recently bought a bicycle that I expect will expand my view of Los Angeles and provide even more fodder for how to advocate for urban evolution.

Car-free life in car cities like LA is possible and pleasant.

The only way I like to experience a freeway, from above

---

Sidewalk Life

Walking offers a different perspective on streets and neighborhoods, one you won’t get from driving. 

While walking, I notice beautiful trees, fragrant blooms, and stunning urban architecture. I take lots of pictures. Sometimes I make phone calls while I walk or listen to a great podcast, like Decoder or Hidden Brain.

I bump into people I know while walking, something that’s bound to never happen alone in the car. Alienation is one of the crises facing our society—could driving be exacerbating it?

But the sidewalk is home to many types of people, and in order to be a confident walker you must be willing to face your fellow urbanites. 

Many unhoused people live on the streets and the sidewalks. As a walker you see the reality of the homelessness crisis first hand. I always make a point to acknowledge an unhoused person and smile.

What’s more, crossing congested streets, even at crosswalks, can be treacherous (and the trend is worsening). I always make sure to look both ways and make eye contact with drivers. Many drivers are polite, but many are not and treat pedestrians as a nuisance.

But drivers should view pedestrians positively. 

Aren’t pedestrians actually doing everyone else a favor, by not driving? 

Creepy house on a hill in Echo Park

---

For every person who walks, there is one fewer car at each stoplight. 

For every person who walks, it’s one fewer potential accident, one fewer opportunity for road rage to occur.

Fewer trips mean less emissions and more parking for everyone else.

Instead of protecting pedestrians, drivers regard them with irritation or forget they’re there in the first place. 

Driving makes us selfish, aloof, and in possession of a deadly weapon.

2030 Cities

Our COVID experience highlighted the ways cities cater more to work-day commuters than to residents, and how urban spaces should evolve.

Voters, planners, and leaders must work to make the foot-level urban experience easier and more comfortable if our cities are to continue being desirable places to live.

Events like CicLAvia—where busy streets are reserved for non-motorized traffic for an entire Sunday—and the addition of protected bike lanes are both good steps in that direction.

Can’t resist a reflective surface

---

If walking was more normalized and our spaces reflected a pedestrian prioritization, many more would opt to walk instead of drive for short trips, which would amplify many of the benefits listed above.

Research has shown that neighborhoods with vibrant street life and visible sidewalk users are safer for everyone. The Congress for New Urbanism has some great content on Twitter about walkable cities.

Walking has personal benefits too. Physical, psychological. I get some of my best ideas while I’m walking and listening to music.

It can’t only be left up to ballot measures and moments of civic involvement: We can all lead by example by choosing to walk more often.

Take a walk in your neighborhood next time you feel restless or bored or sad.

Observe the houses and the buildings. Acknowledge your neighbors. 

Marvel at all of the natural world around you.

Walking around cities is one of my favorite simple pleasures, something I learned visiting New York many times in my youth. One can walk safely for miles there, with plenty to see and places to stop along the way.

Walking far out in nature is ideal, but the joy of walking in cities can be just as great.

Smelling the hibiscus

---

Many thanks to Susan for edits, Dudley for comic relief, and Stephen for tips on urbanism stuff.