- My hometown, Potomac, Maryland, is a relatively large town near Washington DC. The total population is 44,965 people with a total area of 26.6 square miles. From my house, I can drive 20 minutes to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, 10 minutes to the metro station and 40 minutes to Washington DC. With that being said, Potomac is an automobile suburb because it is nearly impossible to live in the town without having at a car. Our shopping malls, food stores and office buildings are a 10 to 15 minutes drive. The urban density in Potomac is lower than Washington DC, because the houses are designed for families and include lots of land in between. On the other hand, Washington DC, is an area where there are sideways to encourage walking, and the buildings are densely packed together. I enjoyed growing up in Potomac, because I was able to easily travel to so many different areas and still live in a house with a backyard.
- In Bogota, Colombia, every Sunday and holiday the city holds a car-free event, known as Ciclovias. This event restricts cars from driving on roads or decreases their speed limit on roads allowing people to safely bike, walk and skate in the streets. Bogota is similar to Potomac, Maryland because the speed limits in our neighborhoods are typically reduced 20 to 25 miles per hour. I live in an area where there are constantly people outside walking around or biking for recreational purposes, and even though it would be highly impossible to completely eliminate all vehicles for a whole day, having a decreased speed limit help’s regulate accidents. It would be beneficial to try Ciclovias in my hometown in order to improve sustainability, however, the challenge is defying the social norms. So many people drive places just because it is efficient and everyone else does it. If cars were banned for a day and people had to bike or walk everywhere, lots of people would complain, even though it promotes resident health
- Finally, I’m going to discuss Curitiba, Brazil. This city has created the best bus system in the world through generating a bus that efficiently travels to different streets and into the city center. This relates to Potomac, Maryland because we also have a bus system here that takes people to different spots throughout Potomac. For instance, the bus goes to the metro, schools, shopping malls and through a few neighborhoods. Unfortunately, buses don’t run as frequently in Potomac as they do in Bogota and aren’t as large, therefore people end up waiting hours for the bus to arrive. To create better sustainability in Potomac, I think it is important for more people to travel by bus, instead of car. This could help eliminate excess pollution and traffic on the streets because a single bus would be transporting lots of people. Therefore, this would have a beneficial and positive impact on our environment and human activity. Unfortunately, this would involve people changing their habits, which is difficult for most people.
2 thoughts on “Urban Planning- Caren Levin”
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Hi Caren my name is Sam. A link to my blog is here! http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/03/15/module-7-sustainable-living/
Our towns are very similar, having stores and offices about 10 minutes away while driving a car. Its safe to say not having a car in my town is physically impossible as well. I also compared my town to Bogota because many people are doing physical activities in the streets which is risky, and this event can easily prevent risk and improve safety. I find it interesting your town has bus systems that take you to many places, it sounds very convenient. Good job!
Hi Caren, my name is Lizzy. I had a similar aspect in my own blog post for this Module in that I also compared my city to Bogota, Colombia. I agreed that it would be extremely beneficial to hold Ciclovias in my hometown, but it would also be very hard logistically to get everyone on board with the idea. It is very possible for people to bike or walk in the city, but people are very dependent on their cars for more substantial travels, and understandably so. I also live in an automobile suburb like you, but have access to the city of Philadelphia. Here is a link to my blog post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/15/sustainable-living/.