CHICO COMMUNITY WALKABILITY CRITICAL THINKING STUDENT PROJECTS FALL 2012

WALKABILITY QUESTIONAIRE Are sidewalks narrow or cracked? Is it relatively easy to cross the street? Does your neighborhood have crosswalks? Is the speed limit conducive to walking? Are there speed bumps or other obstacles to slow the traffic flow? Are there bike lanes or sufficient room on the streets for cars, bikes, and pedestrians? Is there adequate off street parking? Do streets interconnect or do many streets have dead ends without connecting pedestrian trails? Do your sidewalks go nowhere? Is the lighting adequate for night walks? Is there a tree canopy? Are many people of various ages walking? Are essential services all available within ¼-1/2 mile?

MY NEIGHBORHOOD: OUT FOR A WALK

LOOKING LEFT

LOOKING RIGHT

TRAFFIC JAM

SIDEWALK TO NOWHERE

CLOSEUPS

CLOSEUPS

CROSSWALK?

WHY WALKABILITY? Environmental Ethics Blog Topic: Live Like Thoreau 2010 “What can I do?” Walkable.org lists Chico as a walkable city. Chico State campus used to be walkable. Now perhaps only downtown is walkable, not the town.

WHY USE THIS TOPIC IN CRITICAL THINKING COURSES? Two Problems with Critical Thinking textbooks: Extended arguments on dated topics Extended arguments requiring too much knowledge or research

HOT TOPIC? Class of 120 students, mostly freshman = 20 groups Target articles on hot topics: Buying Local 3 Chickfilet 3 Patient or Criminal or Good Neighbor? 4 Do Too Many Young People Attend College? 3 Walkabilty 7 Walkability was the topic of choice

TWELVE STEP WALKABILITY CHECKLIST http://walkable.org/faqs.html Intact Town Centers (everything within a 5 minute walk) Residential densities including mixed income and mixed use Public Places for assembly and recreation Universal Design (no sidewalks to nowhere) Speed controls (courteous and safe speeds) Linked streets, trails, walkways. Scaled design (1/8th to 1 mile walk) Designed for people, not for cars Thinks small (e.g. grocery stores) Many people are walking (crime, lights, service hours) Vision, a plan with funds under neighborhood control Engaged responsive leaders resistant to factions

WALKABILITY AUDIT Sidewalk width and condition Street crossings Connectivity to parking On-street and off-street parking Screening Tree canopy Building placement Restorations Housing type and mix A quick checklist for your target neighborhood Walking Audits – Stakeholders and Solutions http://walkable.org/assets/downloads/walking_audits.pdf

PROJECT Topic and group members were self selected No fault divorce 100 point scale and 120 points available Students were given the 12 steps and the audit Students were given access to city planning documents Students had access to audio tapes of council meetings Groups could not select the campus Groups could not select the same neighborhoods Two required meetings with the instructor (impact on class time) Six to eight page paper including policy proposals Public presentation of results - 7 to 10 minutes Not an arena (additional impact on class time) Outside guests Outside contacts: CALTRANS, City Planners, Neighborhood Associations, Police

CHICO NEIGHBORHOODS

WEBSITES Weebly.com – free web hosting Five of the seven groups made websites http://www.csuchico.edu/phil/faculty/tony.html - my page Results from: Walkability 3 Walkability 5 Walkability 7 These were prepared to support the oral presentation. The major portion of the grade was based on the written paper.

STUDENTS: MAJOR CONCERNS Crime Speed Lighting Litter Homeless – QOL Feeling Disenfranchised Self-Imposed Limits Funding

CONTACTS AND PROSPECTS Successful: Caltrans, Police, Chico Neighborhood Preservation Unresponsive: City Council Members and Candidates Mention: Wet housing Walkable? One of seven neighborhoods on east side featured mixed housing, shopping, library, meeting place, recreation, post office, sidewalks, lighting, and even a cemetery all within ¼ mile.