Nashville gets lots of accolades as best this and best that and #1 for this or the other. Being "the model of the walkable 21st-Centry city," is something I had not heard
before. I would not think Nashville deserves the honor. Drivers
constantly ignore the "walk" signs when turning or running yellow
lights. To cross a street is to take your life in your own hand. Drivers do not yield for pedestrians even when pedestrians have the light.
Except for downtown not much of the city has sidewalks. Our
sidewalk program doesn't expand sidewalks but rips up very serviceable sidewalks and replaces them with brand new sidewalks. In October it was revealed that in the past two years the city had budgeted $60 million for sidewalks and only got 3.5 miles of new sidewalks.
So who is saying Nashville is supposed to be the model of the walkable 21-century city? New York magazine said it and then questioned the accuracy of the statement. It sort of sit up a straw man to knock over. It never credits anyone or any organization for saying Nashville is the walkable 21st century city. The article does however provide some insight into the status of Nashville's downtown as a community and instead says it is sort of temporary housing for millennials who migrate to the suburbs as soon as they have children. The article seems to say Nashville is a soulless conglomerate of pricey high rises and tourist spots but not a real city and that in the process of creating downtown we have made a city in which the working poor cannot afford to live. The article is worth reading. I am not sure I agree with it but it offers a point of view worth pondering.
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