'A city with people in mind'

This evening in Sandy Bay, Jan Gehl (of Gehl Architects, who have been commissioned by the council to provide a development plan for the area directly surrounding the Hobart CBD) gave a public lecture on the fruits of the research conducted by his firm over the past year.

In it, he addressed many significant issues--from traffic and accessibility, to 'greening the urban' and sense of community.

Provide above is a link to the Hobart City Council website, from which the results of Professor's Gehl's research may be downloaded and digested.

It is our responsibility as members of the greater Hobart community to be aware, informed, and engaged in the process of transforming our urban center, so as to ensure harmony between our public spaces and our personal ethos.

Walk Score website

Found on the web:

Walk Score (www.WalkScore.com) is the leading measure of walkability. It works on any address and gives you a score and a map of nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc.

The designers of this website are clearly in touch with sustainability values. They say:

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to the environment, our health, our finances, and our communities.

Environment: Cars are a leading cause of climate change. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.

Health: The average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.¹

Finances: One point of Walk Score is worth up to $3,000 of value for your property. Read the research report.

Communities: Studies show that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.

The Walking West Hobart map group will take a good look at this tool to see how it can help with our project.