I have been alive for 74 years, and for ten of those years, I lived in a city. For two of those years, I lived a block and a half from where I worked, four blocks from my wife's work, four blocks from the supermarket, four blocks from the kids' schools, three blocks from the Boys and Girls Club, where I taught boxing. We had a car and pickup sitting behind the house and seldom started either one unless we were headed out of town. It was a great way to live.
Then I bought a house in the suburbs and simply threw away ten hours a week; plus adding the stress of dealing with city traffic at each end of the day. I had not appreciated how liberating it was to not have to start each day by getting in the car. It was truly as close to the good life as one could get in the city. I had been close before. I lived a mile out of town and a mile from the sawmill, and was able to walk to work if I chose to. We had to drive to another town for groceries though (three miles).
I think the concept of the fifteen minute city if a great one. Communities should be built to contain everything within walking distance for the residents. Of course, another thing to keep in mind is that the driver for everything is manufacturing or industry and this is what has to be accommodated. The industrial areas should have housing, recreational facilities, health care, and so on, close to the factories and shops. The rest of the city is built to siphon wealth off from the industries and their workers. Retail centers, mandated services, government bureaucracies, etc.
Some of the old Company towns were pretty well thought out. Potlatch, Idaho comes to mind.
Today, I live a long way from town, but my work is right here. The car and pickup generally sit idle for a week at a time. I like my hermit-like existence just fine. If I should ever move to town again, I'll position myself so I can walk everywhere ,and driving or riding will just be recreation. GD
