Does the Aspen Ideas Festival Offer Any Compelling Ideas for Improving City Life?

 

The ideas at issue are presented in the short video featured in this recent CityLab story. Several “Leading Voices” in today’s conversation about cities were asked this “Big Question”: What’s the Number One Thing We Could Do to Improve City Life?

AspenFestPicGeoffrey West says it’s time to recognize the prominence of cities and urban life in the future of the planet. Alissa Walker says we need to make cities more walkable. Jeff Speck says we need to “restripe” cities to make them more “equitable” for cars and pedestrians. Jennifer Pahlka says we need to get cars out of cities altogether and develop better mass transit. M. Sanjayan says we need better ways to connect city-dwellers back to nature.

None of this is all that inspiring on the face of it. However, embedded in the video are a few excellent observations that might generate more creative thought about what’s needed for urban improvement beyond what we’re already investing in the area of transportation. For the punch line, please visit my Planetizen blog.

This piece was re-posted to Sustainable Cities Collective.

 

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