Walkable Cities

Jennifer Fulwiler comments here about the importance of walkable cities. A good little reflection, but I must disagree with her conclusion about how important this issue is. Walkable cities strike at the root of alienation in our modern societies. Nothing can be more Christian and loving for a city planner to do than encourage walkable mixed use developments. Christianity is a religion in which we not only believe we are saved by Christ's sacrafice on the Cross, but also that Christ saves us by perfecting our humanity if we let him. Human beings a rational animals, social by nature. When we design our cities without the emphasis on creating community we cannot be the kinds of beings we were meant to be. By creating cities that encourage community we are creating spaces that cooperate with Christ. Our Lord seeks to perfect us, to make us perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect, he seeks to make us fulfilled beings. We cannot do that in isolation (pace hermits whose prayer life is so vibrant that distance does not affect their communion with others and with God). When we cooperate with God by creating communities instead of subdivisions we are creating a space in which we can be more fulfilled human beings, and we can create a space where we can address community issues easier.

So many issues that concern Catholics, from social justice issues to pro-life issues (really one in the same, but I digress) can be handled in a community, here there are not abstract arguements just realities that we can bring solutions too. In a walkable community I will see the poverty around me and perhaps do something about it, it is not a passing blur. As a community we will do something about poor old Mrs. Hoover living in that dilapidated house. We will come together to provide for a young unwed pregnant instead of ignoring her as she slinks off to Planned Parenthood. One human being cannot change the world, but he can make a difference in his community if he has one. And that could change the world.

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Another name for walkable cities is New Urbanism. Think of new urbanism sort as the designing of neighborhoods and cities more along the lines of a college campus meets a pre-industrial town. Lots of green space, an eclectic mix of buildings, houses and small business in close proximity. Making a city into a patchwork of small towns all near each other instead of massive suburbs. A few examples of some new urban neighborhood plans can be found at New World Byzantine. There is alot of good stuff out there on this movement, a quick overview can be found on Wikipedia: New Urbanism.