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Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

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Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#321

Post by caskstrength »

imtringued wrote: post #306
Natsu wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can definitely bike if that's your thing, I mean it's 35C right now, but there are a lot of times when it's 40-45C. Or occasionally 50C. This could theoretically be good for someone who works from home primarily, but you really do need access to a car to get around Phoenix in general. Some day you're going to want to visit, say, the Renaissance Faire and biking from Tempe to Apache Junction is unlikely to be an a…

I have not biked in 50C weather but I have to say this: Going fast on a bike has a cooling effect. Cars need ACs because they are a mobile greenhouse.

> I have not biked in 50C weather but I have to say this: Going fast on a bike has a cooling effect.

Only if air temperature is less than your body temperature, which is not the case when it is 50C outside. Going fast in 50C would feel like blowing a hairdryer in your face.

Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#322

Post by czottmann »

yodelshady wrote: post #320
jrsdav wrote: post #18

I live in a master planned community (Daybreak, Utah), and while you can definitely scoff at the building quality (state of things everywhere right now, it's all done fast and with low quality materials), it's been fantastic, especially during the pandemic. The whole neighborhood is designed to be walkable, with parks, pools, trails, train stations, grocery stores and restaurants (added in the later phases, which are…

> will say though, the US is poorly equipped for bicycle commuting. Even our neighborhood doesn't have many dedicated bike paths, opting instead to share the road with cars. Most diehard cyclists I know will tell you it's a matter of "when" not "if" you have a scary encounter with a driver. My country is far from perfect, but the US simply culturally hates cyclists. I see outright dehumanisation - comparison to insec…

> The sort of sentiment you get from Europe when you mention Roma.

To me, a European, that generalization is quite insulting.

Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#323

Post by scatters »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #288
kolinko wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walkable neighborhoods don’t need to be small, and they can have car traffic - it’s more about how you design that car traffic. This is a main corner and main street in neighborhood near my home place. It has car traffic, but it is perfectly walkable. The main street has ground floor dedicated to commerce. https://goo.gl/maps/W46KUsJtAtto2yUE7 You have a bus stop with buses getting to city center every 3-5 min, and t…

The post I was responding to suggested that it wasn't necessary to arrange for at least one grocery store in the walkable neighborhood, and that leasing to retail establishments could be entirely up to the building owners. I was observing that if that results in no grocery stores located in the neighborhood, that would make the neighborhood much less walkable. (Even if there's one in walking distance, hopefully it ha…

What's "far too often"? If it's a pleasant 5 minute walk, why wouldn't you want to go out for groceries every day?

Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#325

Post by HWR_14 »

ethanbond wrote: post #116
notJim wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m skeptical that all planning is necessarily doomed to fail. Towns already do a considerable amount of planning via their zoning rules, and subdivisions are planned as well. The example here just seems like a subdivision, but planned for walkability rather requiring you to drive. Where did the place you lived in go wrong?

Well… most towns/subdivisions with zealous planning suck. The best cities in the world appear to be very organically grown. Maybe this is an illusion?

> The best cities in the world appear to be very organically grown. Maybe this is an illusion?

Which ones do you think were organically grown vs. which have zealous planning?

(It would be nice if you used large enough examples that we could discuss them, as opposed to small towns known only to you.)

Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#326

Post by rkangel »

ryanj20021 wrote: post #147

Founder here. Great to see the excitement people have for Culdesac and for Culdesac Tempe. Our vision is to build the first car-free city in the US, starting with the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US. Join our waitlist at culdesac.com. We open next year! If you want to visit in the meantime, drop me a note. Hiring-wise, we're hiring in Tempe or remote. Our top hiring prio is to lead product de…

One small thing - you've got a link on your home page to your "Extend your home on demand" program. That link is dead (just goes to the blog homepage) which was disappointing because it sounds like an interesting concept that I'm struggling to find out about through other routes.

Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#327

Post by HWR_14 »

kortilla wrote: post #149
caslon wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively in the real world, one grocery store will die because a Wal*Mart opened an hour away and is replaced by an hour's drive instead of a brief walk to pick up groceries because people can't resist a dollar cheaper and ten more in gas.

No, that’s not how the real world works. People go to the Walmart and deal with that misery because groceries for the week cost $100 instead of $200. People on a budget absolutely pay attention to the cost of gas.

> People on a budget absolutely pay attention to the cost of gas.

People on a budget do for certain levels of "on a budget". If you only have $5 to buy food (and no credit) and a full tank of gas, it doesn't matter if it costs more in the long term. You burn extra gas now or your kids don't eat.

Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#328

Post by op00to »

jrsdav wrote: post #18

I live in a master planned community (Daybreak, Utah), and while you can definitely scoff at the building quality (state of things everywhere right now, it's all done fast and with low quality materials), it's been fantastic, especially during the pandemic. The whole neighborhood is designed to be walkable, with parks, pools, trails, train stations, grocery stores and restaurants (added in the later phases, which are…

Look up Radburn, NJ.

Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#329

Post by futureshock »

kolinko wrote: post #274
ethanbond wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well… most towns/subdivisions with zealous planning suck. The best cities in the world appear to be very organically grown. Maybe this is an illusion?

Half of Polish cities were rebuilt using central urban planning and came up awesome (build quality aside). There were a few rules: - 5-10 min walk to kindergarden/school and local stores - 3-5 min walk to a bus stop - tons of green space - taller buildings but varied in size and angles so that there is both ample space and variety This is my place I lived in when studying: https://goo.gl/maps/VQqNEY8rcjScsGFg6 (not e…

Oh absolutely! I was surprised to find that the communist city planning in Poland made for extremely livable cities. The block apartments may not have much going for them architecturally, but they are arranged around beautiful parks and gardens, wonderful public spaces dotted with stores and markets. The best way to describe the planning philosophy is US college dorm life on a big state campus. It's even common to have a canteen in the center of the neighborhood just like you would a dining hall. The only sad thing is that as car ownership expands, the green space keeps getting eaten away by parking lots since these areas were designed for car-free living with excellent transit links to the rest of the city.

Re: Culdesac Tempe: The first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US

#330

Post by csomar »

jerry1979 wrote: post #53
jrsdav wrote: post #18

I live in a master planned community (Daybreak, Utah), and while you can definitely scoff at the building quality (state of things everywhere right now, it's all done fast and with low quality materials), it's been fantastic, especially during the pandemic. The whole neighborhood is designed to be walkable, with parks, pools, trails, train stations, grocery stores and restaurants (added in the later phases, which are…

I decided to take a look at Daybreak on google maps, but I'm having a hard time understanding how the layout is different than other developments. I do notice that the lane system looks nice as opposed to just having alleys. Is there other stuff you like?

I'm not sure why this comment isn't up-voted enough. Not sure if the parent poster visited Europe or Asia (or most of the world really) but Daybreak, Utah is nowhere near walk-able except for some of the residents living quite near to the attractions (a grill restaurant or whatever); and these commerce already have many times their sizes in parking.

And cerise-sur-le-gateaux these are some of the ugliest buildings that I have seen. Unbalanced colors, indecisiveness between American/European styles, etc... It's really just your average American neighborhood or worse.

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