1. CHICO COMMUNITY WALKABILITY
CRITICAL THINKING STUDENT PROJECTS FALL 2012

2. 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?

3. MY NEIGHBORHOOD: OUT FOR A WALK

4. LOOKING LEFT

5. LOOKING RIGHT

6. TRAFFIC JAM

7. SIDEWALK TO NOWHERE

8. CLOSEUPS

9. CLOSEUPS

10. CROSSWALK?

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

14. TWELVE STEP WALKABILITY CHECKLIST
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

15. 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

16. 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

17. CHICO NEIGHBORHOODS

18. WEBSITES
Weebly.com – free web hosting Five of the seven groups made websites - 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.

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

20. 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.