Reply to Why is walkability to public schools & stores so hard to find?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In the US, developers build neighborhoods around the car.  And so very little is walkable.  Yet when people are searching for houses, they say they want to live in a neighborhood where they can walk to amenities.  It seems like there is a disconnect between what developers think people want, and what people actually want.[/quote]

But there's also a disconnect between what people way that they want and what compromises they're willing to make. Walkability to lots of things = high density = multifamily house and no/small yards.  Most people want their single family houses with large yards AND easy ability to drive where they want to go AND walkability.  In most cases, you're just not going to get everything, unless you luck out with the one or two SFHs in a district that are relatively close to the schools (but not right across the street where you get the bus traffic) and close to a couple of stores.  [/quote]

Honestly though jurisdictions like Arlington do manage to balance offering SFHs and density. I live 2 blocks from metro on the orange line and can get the restaurants, our pediatrician’s office, my DD’s preschool, trails, parks, etc. and we have a 2,400 sq ft SFH with a nice flat yard. Most my DS’s elementary friends live right near us because the neighborhood school zone is small.

I don’t think the disconnect is that people don’t want density. It’s that there aren’t enough options at price points people can afford. Not wanting a condo in DC doesn’t mean they want a large SFH with giant yard outside the beltway. There should be more in between dense/small/attached housing and SFH sprawl.

And even the small SFH and townhomes in places like Arlington are so expensive that I get many people give up on affording them and just figure they may as well drive farther and get a bigger/newer house.[/quote]

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