Transit-Oriented Discussion

I'm now staying near Venice. This morning I took a train into the city, then walked around for much of the day. I know it may sound dumb, but I don't think I had realized that Venice has no cars at all in it. No garbage trucks, no delivery vans. Just people on foot and boats.

My realization was particularly acute because on the way to Italy I read an article on MinnPost about transit-oriented development, exploring research on whether that type of development causes people to use cars less. The conclusion was that it's not "so much the availability of transit that made people use cars less, but density itself. Higher density means 'lower on- and off-street parking availability, better bus service and more jobs, stores and people within walking distance.'"

Jobs, stores, and people within walking distance. That's Venice.

The ensuing string of comments following the MinnPost article is almost as good as the article itself, especially the words of Alex Cecchini (whose name might lead me to believe he lives in Venice, but clearly, he's in the Twin Cities).