- The town that I live in is Marlton, New Jersey. It is located about 15 minutes from Philadelphia, and lot of lifestyle in my community is based off of our location. There were an estimated number of 6,051,170 in the metropolitan area of Philadelphia, and its surrounding towns. My town in particular has a population of 45,538 as of 2010. I believe that my town is a combination of the different types of neighborhoods such as pedestrian-oriented in some parts, urban downtown in other parts, and automobile suburb as well. I think that it is a combination of all of the above because in some parts it has a main street type place with small close houses nearby where everyone can walk everywhere. There is also parts of my town that are located close to public transportation to philly, and other parts of my town where cars are necessary. I am very connected to my town, and all of the different neighborhoods, and people make the town the amazing, quaint place it is!
- One of the cities I chose to relate to my town is Beacon Hill in Boston. This is classified as a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood. It is classified as this because it is located close to a major city, it offers many places to work, shop, and do other activities, and one can walk to all of these attractions. This area makes the environment more sustainable because it decreases pollution from car emissions. It also improves health by allowing people to walk to all of the different places. Even though this town would have a lower unit density than a city with tall buildings, it contributes a lot to the sustainability. This is similar to my town because there is an area of my town where people can walk to stores for shopping, walk to their work, walk to the grocery store, or a neighbors house or more. My city could become more sustainable by creating more main streets similar to this to reduce car use.
- Another city that I chose to relate to my town of Marlton is Jamaica Plain in Massachusetts. This is a streetcar suburb and is also located outside the major city of Boston (similar to how my town is located near Philadelphia). This area had a rail line going through parts of it so that people can easily travel to the city. This contributes to sustainability and in particular collective action. This allows for more people to come together to ride this public transportation system, and decrease pollution, or traffic jams. My town has something similar that travels to Philadelphia, and other major cities, known as the PATCO. We could increase the sustainability of our town by having more convenient stops throughout our town rather than one or two stops close by. Having more stops would make it more accessible, and desirable for people to use.
3 thoughts on “Making my City Sustainable”
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Hi Madison, my name is Nick Gasparovich. I too live in New Jersey, but much closer to New York than Philadelphia. I found it interesting that your town has a “main street” and it is the center of your town. Ramsey, my hometown, has the same type of main street, but for some reason the social norm is still to drive car there. I began to wonder if certain cities influenced surrounding suburbs differently based on the cites main type of transportation. Both of our town are by different cites and the social norms are quite different. Check out my blog at http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/16/nick-gasparovich-module-7/ .
Hi Madison!
Your blog caught my eye as my parents just recently moved to NJ, but not as close to Philadelphia area. I also found many similarities in our hometowns as they can both be known for urban,suburban automobile, or more pedestrian oriented in others. I live in Erie, Pa and I really enjoy the fact that my city can include all three living and sustainability aspects. Feel free to check out my blog.
https://wp.me/p3RCAy-c20
Hello Madison,
Your blog caught my attention because my friend is from Marlton. I think it is very interesting that Marlton can be considered for all three different types of neighborhoods. I live on the other side of Philadelphia and the area where I come from is strictly an automobile suburb. Unfortunately, we don’t have any buses or trains which I believe would be a great way to make my area more sustainable. Check out my blog at: https://wp.me/p3RCAy-c1c