It's all about perspective....

2 mins. drive to various grocery stores, 5 mins drive to 101, 237 and other freeways.

This came from a post my work's internal for sale email list. What struck me was how the advantages of the location were couched in terms of how easy it was to drive to different places, especially when the distances were so short. A two minute drive in a suburban area means that you can drive about a mile under the best of conditions. In a race between a bike and car at these distances, the bike would probably win. As for walking it's probably 7 minutes. These are all walking distances, but we look at the world in terms of a car as a part of ourselves.

I remember when I use to live downtown in a major city, one of my favorite benefits was the ability to walk around the corner to my grocery store. It gave me an opportunity to notice the world around me. There use to be a time when schools bused students by how far they lived. Even high school students use to walk when families use to have one car, maybe two. Somehow, the assumption changed to everyone having a car. No wonder why we feel so indebted as a nation. Cars are definitely convenient, but defining the world in those terms seems a loss instead of a gain.

So what's a walkable distance? When do you decide to walk? To ride a bike? To drive? My local convenience store is a 10 minute walk, and 2 minute bike. For me it's a mix of time of day, weather and schedule. The little gears of my mind crank along, and what I get is....