urban

Well, the great car debate that I posted about last week is over ... actually, it's been over for almost a week but I just didn't get around to taking pictures until this morning.

We went with the Fit. It's the perfect urban car in that it's small and mobile which is great for parallel parking, it's environmentally friendly with the low emissions and the 30+ miles a gallon it gets in the city, and works well for the family because it's very roomy inside, has a great safety rating, and is a Honda so, in about 17 years, we'll be able to hand the keys over to Robbie so he can take it to college.

A number of months ago I posted a blog titled Love Nature? Move to the City. As a part of my logic I pointed to how people in the city tend to use public transit or walk more than those in the burbs (and thus decrease pollution from emissions).

Then, yesterday, I ran across this article which points to a new study being done to explore the health benefits (specifically in relation to the obesity issue) of all this additional walking.

The 10-month study will compare neighborhoods that are designed to promote walking to everyday destinations, which tend to either be cities or urban villages like the new Stapleton development (which is being studied) or those popping up around Denver's light-rail stations, with those that encourage driving, which would be your typical burbs because housing is largely separated from everyday services.

It should be interesting to see the results.