O Pinions!

Sidewalks.

Inspired by a blog entry "Not a Newbie Anymore"  by Elisa: Snowman Stik.

Sidewalks... I know a few.

Missoula Montana is good at maintenance for safety. Snow removal is not as big an issue as elsewhere in the North but it's addressed. As summer AirBnBs and second and third and fourth homes multiply this may become more salient if seasonal vacancies are not kept up. People are aware of heat problems as our new bridge had a surface that scorched. Folks here love their dogs and it was not safe.

Debris, oil, trash, et cetera, flows into rivers that flow into ... yadayadayada. Lawrence Kansas marked the storm sewers so people became aware. Missoula has less rain and grit is more of an issue. I can't say that streets and sidewalks are clean. I've been to Tokyo. That's clean! But go to the Balkans and it's a flashback to 1950s America where everyone tossed trash out the Chevrolet's window. Same with cigarette butts. Education matters. I've seen that work in Costa Rica.

Access and use. For me that's a concern in Thailand because, unlike Thais, I walk! Many sidewalks are blocked. Motorcycles, cars, food carts, pots of lotus ... sometimes on purpose (neighbor feuds?). People drive mopeds down sidewalks. Few use bicycles ... it's just too dangerous. The streets are far too dangerous (Thailand ranks as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for traffic fatalities). Culturally, honking horns is rude, so don't expect a warning. Left-on-left = no stopping and seldom slowing down. Even a small detail like pedestrians with earplugs or texting-while-walking/cycling/driving.

Trees provide shade (Sofia, Bulgaria was wonderful!), as do awnings and arcades (Torino, Italy). Sidewalks that aren't slip-and-slide would be nice *sarcastic* (Hualien, Taiwan has marble sidewalks and it rains a lot.) The concrete/stone used in Taipei, Taiwan sparkles... great when walking in lower light. Missoula has tried to 'give back the night' which means the streetlamps illuminate the streets and walkways not bedroom windows (un-illuminated or hyper illuminated is found in poor neighborhoods). Homelessness creates a tangential issue. Poverty in general determines whether an area has basic infra-structure.

Walkability is also a part of livability. Not everyone lives in a WalMart parking lot.

So, yeah, details are important. And much of that should be thought of before building and renovating.