The Importance of Connecting with Others

Happy New Year!  Many of you may be on your way to meeting your New Year’s resolutions.  If you haven’t already, one resolution you should commit to is increasing and improving your friendships such as communicating with that friend or family member you haven’t heard from in a long time or meeting new people.  Why?  A recent study by Harvard University demonstrates that having good social relations is good for your health and happiness. These findings are also supported by Dr. Andrew Weil.  So what does this have to do with community design standards?  In short, a lot.

Social media such as Facebook aside, the type of community we live in plays a major role in determining the activity level of our social life.  Studies have shown that people who live in compact, walkable places are more likely to see their friends or family than someone who lives in a community where the only way to get around is by car.  The main reason is that compact, walkable places have more people and more places to gather such as coffee bars, delis or parks within a short distance of their house.  These places make it easier to make plans to meet with friends or family as well as increase the likelihood of a chance encounter with them. The farther people are away from each other, the less likely or frequently they are to meet. Plus, compact, walkable places should increase one’s ability to meet new people.  Books such as Charles Montgomery’s “Happy City”, Julie Campoli’s “Made for Walking”, Jeff Speck’s “Walkable City”and Ray Oldenburg’s “The Great Good Place” do a wonderful job of explaining how the built environment affects our social life including our driving and walking habits.

Creating design regulations that pay attention to the details of what makes great places for people and promoting more interaction is a primary consideration of good design standards. Examples of good design standards include having buildings close to the sidewalk along a market street to provide an enclosed feeling; outdoor dining; street trees for shade; parks with lots of activities; benches for people to sit; having the core of a residential neighborhood about a 5 minute easy and safe walk from a neighborhood center or market street that forms the edge of the neighborhood; having a mixture of residential buildings to promote diversity in the look of a neighborhood but also designed in a way that supports the context of the adjacent neighborhood.  There’s a lot more to designing communities for people.  

The Rua das Flores in Curitiba, Brazil is a wonderful place for people to gather

Interested in reading more?  Here are some links to articles covering how our built environment affects our ability to socialize in person.

Richard Florida “Walkability is Good for You”

Malcolm Gladwell “Outliers”

Susan Henderson, “Walkability is about the experience”

Richard Jackson et al, “The Impact of Community Design and Land-Use Choices on Public Health: A Scientific Research Agenda"

David Roberts, "How our housing choices make adult friendships more difficult."

Making Streets Safe for Austin Planners

A few months ago, a colleague was walking in Downtown Austin when he was hit by a car that turned into him while he was crossing an intersection as the pedestrian light told him to do. Unfortunately, the driver of the car started turning on the green light but didn't look to see if there were pedestrians crossing.  After I heard about the accident and heard that my colleague had sustained an injury, I realized in my 9 years with the City of Austin there have been 9 injury-inducing pedestrian and bicycle accidents of City planners. Nine.  This is an incredibly high number.  Broken bones, dislocations, sprains, concussions, and contusions.  I've worked for a couple of other employers and never experienced this kind of injury rate.

Several of the bicycle accidents were caused by an obstruction in the road while a one was caused by wet road conditions.  However, five of them were caused by drivers who were not paying attention or driving aggressively.  One was a hit and run that left a co-worker with a few injuries including a concussion.

Planners consider it their jobs to create safe environments for all means of getting around.  All of our injured planners have made contributions to safer streets by working on plans and programs that have made important contributions to our transportation network in Austin.  These are people who live for what they work for:  creating safe and enjoyable environments for all means of transportation but particularly walking and cycling.  Their injuries are even more motivation to do our jobs of creating more walkable communities.

I've been fortunate not to be one of these victims but I've had my share of close calls.  Too many to count actually. A couple were real close where only sheer luck prevented me from getting hit.  I mostly ride the bus to work which includes about 2 miles of walking to and from the bus stop.  Not that I haven't made mistakes but a pedestrian making a mistake will cause a lot less damage than a driver.   I'm going to highlight a few types of near misses and mistakes I've observed.  I have been jumped in the queue by cars turning right and left and running red lights.  Cars aren't my only problem. Cyclists often come up behind me and don't announce themselves, which really makes me angry when there is a nice bike lane for them to be using.  And I see more than my share of pedestrians crossing mid-block; sometimes within feet of a crosswalk.  Again, that makes me angry.  But, hey, we all have to be patient.

Patience is the point of this article.  Whatever way you are traveling please be patient, pay attention and follow the rules of the road.  Consider this: the next time you drive aggressively or allow yourself to be distracted, you may be jeopardizing the life of someone who wants to make streets safer for people including you.

Dog-Friendly Places are People-Friendly Places

It is our nature as people to want to be happy.  Most studies about happiness agree that strong social connections are an important component of being happy. Dogs not only love us unconditionally but they help many of us forge social connections with our neighbors and others we don't know. For those of us who struggle to meet people, dogs are a great icebreaker as they create the first topic of conversation. Our dog Tuukka has been a wonderful addition to our family as she is a happy dog who loves people and other dogs and is well-behaved.  This gives us the flexibility to take her to places where dogs are allowed.  Many chance encounters happen because of her.  As happiness is vital to people, it's important for communities to be dog-friendly.  Besides, dogs need continuous socializing as well. So what does a dog-friendly community look like?  I'll use Austin as my reference but these concepts should apply anywhere.

First, I'll use an example of our usual Saturday mornings in Austin.  My wife and I take Tuukka to the Barton Creek Mall Farmers Market where we hang out at the Austin Boxer Rescue booth (Tuukka is a Boxer who we adopted from ABR).  Lots of people take their dogs to the farmers market and many people and dogs stop by the booth.  Tuukka and we get to meet a lot of people and dogs in a friendly atmosphere.  Good friendships have been formed at the farmers market.  After the farmers market, we go to the Austin Beer Garden on Oltorf where we sit outside at picnic tables with other people and dogs.  Not only is the beer and food great, so is the atmosphere.  We always meet people with Tuukka. Without her, our chances of talking with a stranger is lower.   Cafes, coffee bars and taverns are important places to meet people.  Hopefully, these places are close to where you live so you can walk or take a short car ride.  Too bad my neighborhood doesn't currently have any retail nearby so we must always drive.

Tuukka makes a new friend at the Draught House, a great dog-friendly tavern.  All photos by Paul DiGiuseppe

Parks are another must, even better if it is a dog park.  A dog-friendly park is great for exercise and the ability to meet others.  You will see hordes of people and dogs at Auditorium Shores and other Austin dog parks.     Unfortunately, we do not have a park within our neighborhood and can attest to the need for having a park within a neighborhood.  However, we use the neighborhood's detention pond when it is dry and occasionally see other dogs and people in the pond.  A trail or greenbelt is also great.  I've met many dogs and people during hikes. I haven't taken Tuukka to the Barton Creek Greenbelt because if I took her off leash, she'd probably end up in Canada.

The Barton Creek Greenbelt is a great place for people and dogs.

Sidewalks are vital to walking your dog in your neighborhood and meeting your neighbors.  One interesting thing I've noticed with Tuukka:  when walking, she always goes to the sidewalk and away from the street.  She seem to understand what people know; use the sidewalk because it's safe.  Our neighborhood has sidewalks on both sides of the street but no where to walk to like a park or restaurant. As I live in a low-density neighborhood, we usually do not see people or dogs on our walks.  This bothers Tuukka as she wants to see dogs and people who are not my wife or me. I expect more dense, compact neighborhoods have more encounters with neighbors and dogs.

Great dog places should also have with lots of good vets.  Pet stores with good quality food and toys are also a must (as well as another great place to meet people and dogs).

As a friend said  "Dogs are such good people...  better than people." I agree. So if we want to be good to dogs and ourselves, we must make our communities dog-friendly.  By doing so, we are making our communities better for all of us.  Hopefully, you and your dog live in a neighborhood with sidewalks and places to go such as parks and retail.  

Seattle might be the ultimate dog city.  For proof, check out this video of the dog who rides the bus.

So, readers, what are some other dog-friendly amenities?

Why I Love Austin

I'm writing this blog due to my love for Austin but also in response to the increasing criticism of Austin I've heard recently ranging from locals to bloggers who've visited.  The concerns usually focus around the negatives associated with growth: increased traffic, rising costs, water shortages and being more crowded.  And of course, change.  I frequently hear that Austin was better, depending on who I talk with, in the 60s, 70s and even 80s.  They say it was a friendlier town when it was smaller. While there are many reasons to love a place such as beauty, inclusiveness and social interactions, I'm focusing on culture and vibrancy.

Stevie Ray Vaughn's statue in the foreground and our changing Downtown shows

a city reminded of its past while experiencing a lot of change. All photos by Paul DiGiuseppe.

I am not a native of Austin or even Texas although I married a Texan.  I was born and raised in the suburbs just outside of Providence, Rhode Island then spent over 15 years in Tallahassee, Florida.  It is from this perspective that gives me my view of Austin.

Providence, and Rhode Island in general, in the 1970s and 80s was a mostly vacant, boring place.  It was a dying industrial area that saw a loss of jobs, people, investment, hope and vitality. My friends and I were usually bored out of our minds because there wasn't much to do, typically ending up at some cheesy glam rock bar or some other place that wasn't fun or fulfilling. Many people I knew complained how bad it was. While today's Providence is lively, back then there was little excitement.   Truth be told, there was some culture out there such as great art and theater but as a late teen and early 20-something, theater and art had no appeal.  The music scene was primarily cover bands with little original music. There were some good bands like the Schemers and great bands like Throwing Muses but I didn't know how to find them back then. Even Throwing Muses moved away to find success. I had to do the same.

Thayer Street in Providence was fun even in the 80s but was one of the few bright spots back then.

In 1990, I packed up and moved to Tallahassee, Florida to attend graduate school. The best way to describe Tallahassee is a beautiful city but a cultural backwater. In fairness, Tallahassee had a decent theater and art scene but musically it flopped. Touring bands stayed on I-10 and didn't stop and the local music scene was cover bands and Creed.   It seemed like for every new cultural thing added they would lose an old one. Not enough was happening and it lacked the spirit. For years, my wife and friends and I waited for the city to take off.  It didn't.  Tallahasseans were fond of saying "Oh, I heard Tallahassee is just like Austin."  Yes they both are state capitals and and large public universities but that's where the similarities end.

If I had known who I was back in 1990, I would have realized I was a city boy who should have moved to a big city like Seattle, Boston or Austin.  By the mid 2000's, I was aware of myself and desperately needed to live in a place with energy.  I was nearing 40 and never lived in a place I loved and needed to do so before it was too late. My wife and I started looking for a new city to live.

In 2006, at age 40, I made it to Austin!  From the moment I arrived, I could feel the Austin vibe.  It was a vibe I never felt in either Rhode Island or Tallahassee.   I knew Austin had a great music scene but didn't know the film, theater, food, literary, and art scenes were that prolific.  And so many people were friendly, cool, energetic and smart.

From my perspective, I believe Austin is better now than when I moved here.We have only lived in South Austin and have seen more and more great things coming our way.   Places such as Whole Foods, Strange Brew Coffee and Lounge and Moontower Saloon have popped up in South Austin in the last few years with the result being that we often stay south and don't have to drive as much.  As opposed to my time in Rhode Island and Tallahassee, Austin has seen more and more music venues, movie theaters, cafes, beer brewers, grocery stores, parks and trails, restaurants, art galleries, food trailers and other things that we either need or enjoy.  The recent renovations at Auditorium Shores and the new Boardwalk on Lady Bird Lake are other reminders why I love living here. They make me feel respected. Austin is my true home.

Amanda Pearcy performing a great set at Strange Brew

I get that change happens.  Even Rhode Island and Tallahassee have changed and will continue to change.  All places change.  I just hope that in the end, the change leads to a better place.  Some of my favorite places have closed like the Parlour on North Loop.  But for every closure, there are many more new favorites. I'll take Austin's positives over it's negatives and will do what I can to address the challenges.   Too bad that the naysayers are the ones who are usually heard by our City Council and media. I challenge the yea-sayers to get more vocal.  This is my view, what is yours?

Our Five Senses

The 5 Senses:  How People Experience Place

You are walking down a street with your buddies on a Friday night in Downtown Austin, Texas.  There is a buzz in the air. You look around and see lots of people walking, talking, playing an instrument, dancing, and wearing funky clothing .   You see lots of cool clothing stores and restaurants serving all types of food.  You hear a rock band playing down the street and decide to go there with your friends.  On your way to the club, you smell all the delicious aromas wafting from all the food trucks.  You stop at one and have the best barbecue of your life.  You meet some other friends at the club and exchange high-fives and hugs.  This is some night!

This is how most of us experience place.  

While aspects such as density, floor-to-area-ratio, impervious cover, parking ratios, building heights, setback lines, build-to lines, etc are all important considerations for the development and evolution of our communities, they do not, by themselves, create great places for people. Oftentimes, these tools are used to make decisions to accommodate the car or some infrastructure deficiency but are not always useful in creating great places for people.

The way these tools are often used, written and discussed, you would think we would experience a place like this:

You are walking down a street with your buddies on a Friday night in Downtown Austin, Texas.  You look around and see buildings ranging in height from 82 to 656 feet.  You see lots of stores that have very high impervious cover ratios and minimal build-to lines, appropriate for such an urban environment.  You hear a rock band playing down the street and wonder if the decibel level exceeds the standard.  You stop at a barbecue food truck and immediately ask to see all of the required permits.  You and your friends meet at a club and discuss the floor to area ratio of the building and the merits of the reduced parking ratios.  

Of course, this is an exaggeration.  

Instead of thinking of community as a mathematical formula or computer output, we should think about communities in terms of the five senses:  sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.  We experience place through our five senses and great communities appeal to all of them.  This piece will focus on why the five senses should be considered when creating a community that is welcoming to people. This is just a starter conversation and is by no means complete.  I would love to hear your responses and grow the conversation.

By our nature, we want to see beauty.  Beauty takes many forms and as the saying goes “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  There’s a wealth of literature showing the importance of mother nature, one of which is our desire to see and be a part of the outdoors. From trees to birds to water, we benefit from seeing and experiencing nature.   This is one of the reasons why so many cities have green spaces. Investing in nature, whether it is a pocket park in downtown or buying thousands of acres for a greenbelt, is a wise investments for many reasons.  As Albert Einstein once said “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

The Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, TX provides people and dogs with a great outdoor experience.  All photos are by Paul DiGiuseppe unless otherwise noted.

From the young, single person to the old, happily married couple, most of us want to see and be around other people.  Isn’t that why most of us like to people-watch?  Even more than this, we need to see people so we know we are not alone and have the ability to form relationships.   We are social beings, we need to be with other people.  And speaking of beauty, let’s highlight our best companions: dogs.  Places that are dog-friendly are people-friendly.  Great communities have places where people go such as taverns, coffee bars, restaurants, parks, squares, trails, tree-lined streets, and places to sit.

This street performer in Montreal attracts a crowd on this market street. Photo courtesy of the City of Austin Planning and Development Review Department.

Another eye-catcher is architecture and design.  While most of us cannot determine the height of a building at first glance, we all know whether we think it is beautiful.  A community needs to focus on creating well-designed buildings, streets, blocks, and communities to create places where people want to live, work and play.  Inviting streets with shade and buildings close to the street, plazas or squares, and outdoor seating are important design elements needed to attract people.  Great places should have life on the street with people walking, running or sitting at a fountain or cafe.  Not only should the design be inspiring, the uses should be people-oriented with a mixture of retail, residential and office.

Just like with sight, we want to hear beautiful sounds.  While we love our peace and quiet, soothing sounds should be part of any community.  This is another example of where nature comes in:  the sound of birds chirping, trees swaying, or water running its course down a creek create soothing sounds.  If your community doesn’t have nature within it, hopefully you live close to it.  Hopefully some nature, such as a park, will come to your community if it’s not already there. Even the most urban places have great parks and trails:  The Trail at Lady Bird Lake in Downtown Austin, Central Park in New York, the Boston Commons, Audubon Park in New Orleans.

While we all enjoy soothing sounds, city dwellers need to hear the beautiful sounds of the city.  Those of us in Austin have the benefit of living in the “Live Music Capital of the World,” and are fortunate to have a wide selection of music venues and even more musicians.  For most of us, it is wonderful to be able to have so many great choices.  And what creates a stronger vibe than walking down a street hearing music?  I empathize with those who live close to those venues that amplify into residences or neighbors that play it a little too loud.  I merely point out that in general, music is a must to making us happy.

Split Squad plays at the Gingerman in Austin, TX during South by Southwest in 2013.

Another sound that we social beings seek out is sound of other people.  Whether we are having a one-on-one conversation, hearing kids play or hear a group of people chatting, we enjoy the sound of other people’s voices.  Not only that, we need to have two-way interactions so that we have something to give and receive and feel part of a community.  

Noise is part of the beautiful chaos that is urban communities.  Noise from cars, trucks,sirens, motorcycles and buses can all be noisy irritants but are needed for most of us to get around and keep society moving.  Maybe if they go slower, they will be quieter and a needed muffler repair could go a long way. Hopefully, technology will reduce noise.   I don’t know about you, but the noise of the city makes me appreciate quiet even more.  

Great communities have great food.  Think about it, can you have a great experience in a community without food?  Food helps us experience real places in a real way and helps us form a great memory (if the food is great).  Doesn’t all the great ethnic foods taste better when found in the ethnic communities versus a mall?    Need more convincing about the importance of food to a community?  Look at the growth in urban farms and community gardens right in our own neighborhoods that provides us with fresh food.  What tastes better than a freshly picked tomato or orange?  Also, many cities have seen an explosion of mobile food trucks serving an amazing diversity of delicious food along our market streets and neighborhood centers.  When you think of cities like Miami, New Orleans, New York, Houston, Austin or Providence, one of the first things you think about is the food.

People enjoying great food at DePasquale Square in Providence, RI.

Along with food, the country is seeing a revival of craft beer brewers, vineyards and distillers of whiskey, gin, tequila and vodka. Many of our great communities boast wonderful, locally made spirits and drinks that are being enjoyed by locals and visitors.   Being a beer geek, I know cities such as Portland, Maine and Oregon, Seattle, Austin, Boston and Denver are hotbeds of the local craft beer scene.

Food brings people together.  As the Italians like to say “Good food, good wine, good friends, good times” and “It is around the table that friends understand best the warmth of being together.”        

As social creatures, touch is a must.   Shaking hands, kissing, patting on the back and hugging are all needed for us to feel happy, loved and appreciated. We feel more connected to our community through touch.  Touch helps release oxytocin, the happiness chemical. Hugging and petting a dog is also a must for most of us, especially when the dog looks in your eyes and wags its tail (and dogs love being petted). People-friendly places are great places to meet friends and family and greet each other with touch.  When we meet friends at a tavern, park, coffee bar or some other gathering place, we usually start with a hug or handshake.  More and more studies are showing the emotional benefits of touch.  

A daughter and mom enjoying a hug during the 2014 Viva Streets festival in Austin which promotes streets for people.

Robin the Boxer gets a big hug from a friend. Robin gets lots of hugs from many friends.

Touch isn’t only reserved for the warm-blooded.  Trees and flowers are also meant to be touched; this is literally “getting in touch with nature.”  Getting a chance to touch a plant or tree helps keep us to stayed rooted and make us feel relaxed and happy.   

Like taste, smell triggers emotions and memories.  Paired with food, smell is part of the experience of place.  Smelling the great aromas of those ethnic foods and eclectic flavors will draw us to a place.  If you have had the chance to go to a place with lots of mobile food trucks or brick and mortar restaurants, the aromas are diverse and change as you walk.  Great places have great aromas that draw us to it and make us want to stay.  Market streets with cafes are a great place to enjoy this sense.

Outdoor cafes are part of the wonderful experience that makes up Providence, RI's East Side.

“Stop and smell the roses” is certainly true for great communities.  These communities have lots of flowers which produce their own wonderful aromas.  So stop and smell them.  The aromas of plants can bring about such a calmness and promote thoughtfulness.  

Cities can also have odors such as exhaust and garbage.  Fortunately, technology and social changes have resulted in improvements to many things including odor.   But like anything else, you have to experience the bad to appreciate the good.

What do you think?  I’d really like to know.

This opinion is strictly my own and does not reflect the opinions of my employer, wife, parents, brother, dog, cat, friends, or anyone else I may come across.