Walk This Way: Santa Monica, CA
Despite pervasive refrains of “…nobody walks in LA” (courtesy of ’80s New Wave band Missing Persons) people actually do walk here. Compared to my hometown of Dallas, people in LA walk a LOT. Maybe it’s because the traffic is so bad, and once you get to your destination, there’s nowhere to park. Regardless, the LA area is made up of many different, distinct cities, each with their own walk-ability ratings, as defined by Walk Score.
Even within Santa Monica, the walk-ability factors vary greatly. In the Downtown area where I live, everything is within a mile. From shopping and restaurants to the Santa Monica Public Library (a LEED certified Gold building, by the way) and the beach, it’s all right here. Though the area’s real estate is outrageously expensive, the number of new green affordable housing complexes is on the rise. The schools are good. It rarely rains. Besides, traffic gets sticky during tourist season - all the more reason to walk! All in all, a very livable, walkable area (though I’d recommend carrying pepper spray at night…I guess you can’t have it all).
But this begs the question: is this local-only vision a good thing? Of course environmentally-speaking, it is. I’m not driving to the grocery store or dry cleaner. I get some easy exercise. I encounter my neighbors and say hi. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
However, the Westside of LA is not generally known for its cultural diversity. In fact, the stereotypical Westsider rarely ventures east of the 405 and doesn’t know (or care) about anything going on in LA. The REAL LA. The LA where there aren’t just “two Americas” but probably more like 100 - only one of which is the plasticized Hollywood stereotype. In this new “global” village in which we all live, keeping a broad perspective is essential to learning, understanding, and communicating.
So, here’s my take: do your best to walk or bike, as you go about the every day. But at least once in awhile, get outside of your one square mile and take advantage of everything that LA has to offer. You might just learn something.
Related posts: ‘Walk This Way’ Week: How Pedestrian-Friendly is Your Town?
Photo credit: therealsparkplug under a Creative Commons license
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How about once you go outside your boundaries and are nearing your destination, you park further away and walk.
The answer to Santa Monica’s isolation (as you state it) is the Red Line - Extend the subway all the way down Wilshire to Santa Monica blvd, then straight to downdown SM… LA will blossom around it.
Thanks for the info on SM public library being LEED Gold; was just there yesterday for the 1st time