September 11, 2009 AM

D to 4th to L to 7th to E to 5th to D.


In choosing a route to commute along I find myself thinking about city planning. If the goal is maximize interaction, what streets should I take? While I usually vary the southern half of my walk, I begin and end my commute on 4th avenue. It has the highest density of businesses, and they range from tourist shops to breakfast joints to the federal building. Because of this, the greatest variety of people hang out on 4th. When I turn the corner at L, I have to decide how to get back east. According to Jane Jacobs, the godmother of urban planning, this decision can affect the cultural vitality of a city. The more choices of walking routes in a city, the more likely we are to meet new people to make art, music, and discuss new ideas. Short blocks and lots of business encourage many different routes and the potential for meeting someone in a coffee shop on your way to work. Or for example if Jimmy has set up his parachute tent on the bookmobile in Peratrovich Park, and you stop to stare and then discuss it's validity with a stranger and then you hit it off and form a band. That would be city planning that promotes culture.

The real decision making happens in Anchorage's new "pedestrian friendly corridor" (F,G,6th,7th). The curbs are bike friendly and I think cars go slower because they feel like they are on a side walk, but I'd just as well avoid these streets. They all have substantial walls bordering all or part of the street. What's the point of being pedestrian friendly if there's no where pedestrians want to go on the street? That's not so friendly. The convention center, polar bear gifts doorless wall, the parking garage: all of these are boring places to stilt because there is no one outside of them. The people only hang out at the small hole into these massive structures. For example, one family was camped out with chairs and coloring books outside the Atwood building covered entry waiting for the PFD office to open at 10. But there were no urban picnics happening down the street against the bank of reflective windows.

Here are the exciting places to stilt by:

The Sandwich Deck on 4th. They win the most smiley window wavers award. All week.

Snow White Cleaners: Amazing. How come I haven't come by here before? All of the workers ran out of the building with their hands in the air and yelling.

Snow City Cafe: Today I set a new record for the commute length and my boss even came looking for me because of the Snow City team. I loitered at the host stand chatting with Ernie, drinking green tea, reading the paper for a good 45 minutes.

Peratrovich Park: The homeless folks know that this is good place to people watch. It faces the part of Anchorage left over from the Earthquake, which is visually pleasing, and all the people who meander 4th because it feels a little slower than the rest of downtown. If city planners are looking for cues on where cities work, they should look for places where time rich people hang out.

More reading: Jane Jacobs, Life and Death of the Great American City