For the last six years, between three different workplaces and two different locations, I’ve been able to choose my method for getting to work. That ends in a month when I begin an internship in another city that is not serviced by public transit from my city, and is, frankly, too far for me to get there by any other mode of transportation.
I’m very excited about the organization that I’m working with and the work that I’ll be doing for them, but with summer approaching, I’ll miss my commutes that include time outdoors and not in a car. To be sure, I won’t miss showing up to work looking like I just stepped out of a sauna in my business casual (thanks, DC summer!), but I did come to appreciate walking by trees, breathing non-circulated air, and using at least some of my own power to transport myself. If I am able to secure a job with this organization after I complete my program, I will move closer. I’m absolutely not interested in an all-auto, long commute. This summer’s commute is a reverse commute, which makes it slightly more bearable…but only slightly. I’ve gotten used to rarely needing gas, oil changes, and the like.
Aside from wanting to save money on gas and car maintenance, and from wanting to reduce my carbon footprint, I really love my pedestrian commutes because they provide some form of outdoor living – to accomplish a fundamental task, I have to spend more time outside than just walking to/from my car. When I think of great places, I think of places where spending time outside is more than the time you spend in your driveway, and where time outside isn’t simply just destination-based. It’s not just about getting to the park; what are the routes to the park like? If you wanted to walk or bike there, is it attractive and safe to do so?
How wonderful would it be if we could really live outdoors to some extent? I don’t mean that we should all move into tents, but I do mean that I judge a locality based on its options for outdoor living. Are there restaurants with ample outdoor seating? Are streets lined with shade trees? Do the parks invite you in, encouraging you to spend time there, with a variety of activities or features? Are “public spaces” inviting or hostile? I’ll have to take some pictures, but some of the “public spaces”/plazas in my town are, yes, technically public, but it wouldn’t be clear to someone unaffiliated with the buildings next to them, and they aren’t exactly the most inviting spaces. In other words, are “public spaces” conducive to outdoor living, or are they just another feature for developers to brag about and planning students to create GIS projects out of?
A New Orleans porch designed for outdoor living.
A few weeks ago I was in New Orleans for a conference. I’m smitten with the outdoor living there. Granted, it was April, and I’m sure July is a bit of a different story, but from what I could see, this is a city that knows how to live outside.
