I don’t know; I kind of think that our culture is based around systematic denial of human limitations. I mean, there’s the eight-hour work day (which is about 4 hours longer than most people are consistently able to remain productive); buffing your qualifications on job applications (which everyone needs to do to some extent, because everyone else is doing it); the expectation of multitasking, even though it’s not really possible; academics are running around with impostor syndrome, ultimately because there’s only so many books that an individual is capable of reading, while a bunch of liars and grifters pretend that they’re experts at *everything* and are held up as thought leaders. Billionaires are held up as if they’re just incredibly hard workers, photoshopped movie stars held up as if they’re just incredibly beautiful. We feel guilty for not being something that never has and can never exist.
“Walkable city” is not “City where to have to walk everywhere.”
“Walkable city” is.
Sidewalks big enough to fit you, your stroller, your wheelchair, your guide dog, or anything else you need when you’re getting from one place to another.
Safe crosswalks frequent enough so you don’t need to walk in traffic.
Bike lanes to keep bikes out of foot traffic and car traffic.
Accessible and affordable public transit.
Cities where the essentials are close enough you can travel on foot (or in wheelchair)
Cities where it’s reasonable to be able to get from point a to point b without requiring you, yourself, to drive
People get so caught up in the “Walkable” part of the term and like to spout “Walkable cities are abelist because not everyone can walk”.
Bitch. The modern city structure is abelist because not everyone can drive. And classist because not everyone can afford a car and it’s pretty damn impossible to get a job if you don’t have a car.
Walkable cities are cities where people can reasonably get from pointA to pointB without requiring a motor vehicle.
“But fae. Disabled people have issues using the paths in modern cities.” Bitch abled people can barely use the paths in modern cities. That’s kind of the fucking problem.
Also walkable cities have fucking benches. Not only for disabled people. But sometimes you just twist your ankle and need to sit for a moment.
“Put fae. If you have benches, homeless people will sleep on them.”
Then get fucking housing for the homeless. Problem solved. They’ll sleep in their nice warm homes instead of on the benches.
-fae
Additional things I’d like for the Walkable Cities:
-Water-Fountains. Just, free, public water-fountains. Maybe also get the kind that has the “for dogs” lower spigot/bowl thing? But definitely water-fountains.
-Public Parks (at least those that reach a certain size) should have Public Restrooms. Again, this just makes life better for everyone.
Something deeply painful is the fact that seasons, especially fall, dont feel the same. Not because of individual maturity but because climate change has impacted the weather patterns so so so much that we cant even experience the same annual shifts that our ancestors have for centuries
I feel displaced, i yearn for the spring, summer, fall, and winter that i can barely remember experiencing
To make things worse, if you’re under 50-60 years old, you can’t even remember what normal seasons were like because you weren’t alive to experience them
In the graph above, you can see how there’s a clear tipping point in the late 1970′s, which is when global temperatures first began to really skyrocket.
I was born in 1997, so about 20 years after this shift occurred. There is an immense difference between the climate now and the climate I remember growing up in, but the way I experienced the seasons in my childhood was already fundamentally different from what the seasons were supposed to be like! My parents were pretty much the last generation to experience a normal climate, and that’s just… incredibly sad
I am processing this information in a normal way devoid of rabid rage and bloodlust i am processing this information in a normal wa-
love really just is *sharing blankets* *driving together in silence*
*this song made me think of you* *i made them for you*
*having the most fun just talking* *cold hands warm hearts* *i got home safe* *you said you needed one so i found one for you*
