Greenwich, CT – Urban Planning

My hometown is Greenwich, CT. It borders different parts of NY, and many people commute daily to New York City for work. The population in Greenwich is about 65,000 people and it is located in southern CT. There are many different parts of Greenwich. The downtown area is more of a streetcar suburb, while central Greenwich is a pedestrian oriented part of town, with famous shopping locations such as Greenwich Avenue. Where I live however, is very much an automobile suburb type area. It is known as backcountry Greenwich and is about a 10 – 15 minute drive from the downtown area. Growing up in downtown Greenwich, I love being able to walk to parks and other friends’ houses. However, the seclusion of being in the backcountry area where I am now is so beautiful and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. One reason why I love Greenwich is because it is such a big town with many diverse areas. I think that it makes its residents very well rounded. My whole family lives within 15 minutes of each other in town and I hope to live in Greenwich forever.

The town that compared most to Greenwich was Rochester, NY. The houses there seemed to be very similar to the layout of those in Greenwich. Each house had its own green space with their own driveways. It was also an automobile suburb, like Greenwich is. In backcountry Greenwich, there are no sidewalks. The town’s layout in this area is not meant to be pedestrian friendly, and that is very similar to how it is in Rochester. In Greenwich, it is not feasible to get from backcountry to downtown, as it is a 10 – 15 minute drive in the car. I do not think that adding sidewalks would help. However, because each house has its own backyard, it does encourage people to go outdoors and allows for children to have playdates in the comfort of their own homes. As far as downtown Greenwich goes, adding more green spaces for people to gather could be something that engages the community and encourages people to get outdoors and exercise.

Another town that is relevant to Greenwich is Beacon Hill, Massachusetts. It is relevant because in central Greenwich, there are many places to shop, eat, work, etc. There are so many shops that you can go to and they are all within walking distance. The street layouts out and the proximity of all of these stores to each other makes this a very pedestrian friendly area. Beacon Hill, being developed in the 1800s, when walking was the main method of transportation, is very pedestrian oriented as well. Beacon Hill is a very wealthy area, and Greenwich is one of the wealthiest towns in the country, even with central Greenwich having many low income housing apartments. What I love about Beacon Hill is that people can afford cars but would rather walk. I think that central Greenwich could work on making those housing projects look a little bit more attractive and then people would be more inclined to walk through the area, if the roads and sidewalks looked as beautiful as those in Beacon Hill.

2 thoughts on “Greenwich, CT – Urban Planning

  1. Hey, my name is Jim and here is a link to my blog: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/20/module-7-shaud/

    Wanted to first say that I interned in Greenwich over the summer and I really liked the area! I compared my town, outside philly, to both Rochester and Beacon hill as well. My town is smaller than yours but features the combination of both automobile focused areas and pedestrian areas. I find that these are the best types of combinations for towns but there can be some obvious downsides about mixing the two together. I agree that greenwich should improve the look of its housing projects in the center area in order to encourage more walking.

  2. Hello, my name is Amir, I liked your post because you were able to compare your hometown to 2 different areas using different guidelines. Much like your hometown, I also live in an automobile suburb, where most people drive their own cars. I think this chapter fails to mention the amount of outdoor activity living in such open areas encourages its residents to do. I also think “green spaces” in cities can be beneficial and many cities fail to push on to its residents.
    Link to my post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/19/transportations-influence-on-it-population/#comments

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