Kaid Benfield, Director, Sustainable Communities, discusses how two simple tests can determine whether or not a neighborhood is well-designed for children growing up there. Foregoing complicated jargon about things like mixed use development and traffic planning, the “popsicle test” and the “Halloween test” are simply enough for a kid  to understand. In their simplicity there is great insight. Read “The popsicle test, the Halloween test, and neighborhoods for kids” on Kaid Benfield’s Blog.

“If an 8-year-old can safely go somewhere to buy a popsicle, and get back home before it melts, chances are it’s a neighborhood that works,” and it passes the “popsicle test,” Benfield blogs.

“If it’s a good neighborhood for trick-or-treating, then it’s likely to be compact and walkable,” and it passes the “Halloween test,” he explains.

Inspired by a related blog by Scott Doyon on PlaceShakers and NewsMakers, Benfield’s blog supposes that well-connected streets and sidewalks in neighborhoods that are dense with mixed uses are good for kids, and good for adults, too.

Doyon writes; “For a child, having increasing opportunities to navigate the world around them, explore, invent, fall down, scrape knees, make decisions, screw up, get into - and solve - conflicts, and ultimately, achieve a sense of personal identity and self-sufficiency is a good thing. The right thing,” he say.

The point here is that navigating the world around you as a kid is a character builder. Cherished childhood experiences like taking a walk in the summertime to get a popsicle, and maybe eating it at the park, or scraping your knees learning how to ride a bike are threatened by bad neighborhood planning.

Benfield also likes Doyon’s observation; “If the place works for kids, chances are it works for everyone else, too (and, not coincidentally, it also works for the environment).” The question of whether or not a neighborhood is popsicle-and-Halloween-ready is a pretty easy one to answer, but a lot is implied.

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info

The National Association of Realtors® has found that the majority of Americans prefer living in mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods, “where shops, restaurants, and local businesses are within an easy stroll from their homes and their jobs are a short commute away,” according to the NAR’s newly released 2011 Community Preference Survey.

According to the survey, 56% of people in the U.S. prefer living in a “smart growth community,” and 43% opt for a “sprawl community.”

It seems that the cost and hassle of driving these days is impacting how people choose where to live. Most people would opt for smaller residences, if it means they can drive less, the survey found. This point is also made by Kaid Benfield, the director of Sustainable Communities & Smart Growth, in his blog post on the Natural Resources Defense Council Staff Blog “SWiTHBOARD.”

On the other hand, the many people who “prefer the sprawl community are motivate mostly by desire to live in single-family homes on larger lots,” according to the survey. And the privacy that single-family homes and larger lots provide appeals to many people. 

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info

A recent Boston Globe article explores nationwide trends in downtown development, by reporting how mid-sized cities in Massachusetts are “Reclaiming the Center.” The article covers a number of trends that the Century for 21st Century Communities (21c3) is keeping an eye on, like creating mixed use neighborhoods, renovating and preserving historical sites, and reconsidering street patterns that cause dreaded urban sprawl. 

Mixed-use development projects seek to create neighborhoods where people can live, work, shop, dine, and access arts and entertainment all in the same general area. The article’s author, Casey Ross, makes a good point that “the trend” of reclaiming downtowns “is rooted in the belief among many developers and city planners that the era of the monolithic shopping mall is over, and that people want to live, work, and shop on Main Streets that reflect a community’s culture and history.”

“Supporters of downtown redevelopment say that mixed-use projects will attract residents and businesses to decaying city cores that have sapped their communities of vibrancy and tax revenues. But beyond the money, officials say, the projects will help to restore a deeper sense of civic pride,” Ross reports. 

Read “Reclaiming the Center” on the Boston Globe’s website to find out how mid-sized cities in Massachusetts are reclaiming their downtowns. 

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info.