The thing is, they are half right for all the wrong reasons.
The reason cities are un-walkable, and dare I say unlivable, is not by accident. It is the direct result of urban planning in general and zoning in particular. As soon as they divided the space between where people live, work, shop, and go for entertainment, transportation became necessary.
Mass transit is great. Of course it has it's own problem because it isn't economically feasible to make it go to where people live. Most places, like where I live, mass transit exists. It just doesn't reach where people actually live. It just shuttles between commercial zones.
The imaginary utopias of walkable cities were built before there was zoning. Businesses were on the ground floor and residential living was above. It worked great as long as people were physically capable of walking up to the upper floors. If you were handicapped or elderly with reduced mobility, you were screwed.
Lack of access for services is also a rampant problem. Imagine getting a firetruck or ambulance into that place. How about a simple garbage truck? How about a delivery truck or moving van?
Any business setting up in that type of location will have a limited clientele. The only way that they can make it viable is by charging premium prices to the few people that have access.
The thing is, they are half right for all the wrong reasons.
The reason cities are un-walkable, and dare I say unlivable, is not by accident. It is the direct result of urban planning in general and zoning in particular. As soon as they divided the space between where people live, work, shop, and go for entertainment, transportation became necessary.
Mass transit is great. Of course it has it's own problem because it isn't economically feasible to make it go to where people live. Most places, like where I live, mass transit exists. It just doesn't reach where people actually live. It just shuttles between commercial zones.
The imaginary utopias of walkable cities were built before there was zoning. Businesses were on the ground floor and residential living was above. It worked great as long as people were physically capable of walking up to the upper floors. If you were handicapped or elderly with reduced mobility, you were screwed.
Lack of access for services is also a rampant problem. Imagine getting a firetruck or ambulance into that place. How about a simple garbage truck? How about a delivery truck or moving van?
Any business setting up in that type of location will have a limited clientele. The only way that they can make it viable is by charging premium prices to the few people that have access.
Even in the poster child of walkable cities, Amsterdam, look at what happened when they tried to do this: https://youtu.be/sJsu7Tv-fRY?si=G0alfG9sDA7ztTuC