Woonerf (voon-erf)

[completestreets.org]

Housing woes not affecting economy: Paulson

Reuters
Tuesday, March 13, 2007; 7:04 PM

[Reuters] U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson acknowledged the effects of the meltdown of subprime mortage market: I continue to believe the U.S. economy is healthy...We have had a significant housing correction in the U.S. You can't have a correction like that without causing some dislocations. It's too early to tell whether it's bottomed, I believe it has...there's some fallout in the subprime mortgage market ... but it's largely contained.

Paulson alluded to softening concerns about inflation, citing the economy's more "sustainable" pace.

The backdrop of today's comments was the Dow's second biggest drop of the year, influenced by concerns that the deteriorating suprime lending picture could adversely affect the broader economy, a fear that is more psychological than fundamental, perhaps, according to a portfolio manager quoted in the article. The dollar fell against most major currencies, and there was a flight to safety with rising treasury prices.



OK, so what's a woonerf. The Seattle Post Intelligencer defines this Dutch term for a "living street" as Dutch for "living street" as a new way of designing streets to be people-friendly open spaces, city planners say. It refers to a European concept of creating roadways that favor pedestrians and bicyclists rather than automobiles. A modified version, dubbed "complete streets," allows the uses to peacefully coexist, similar to Pike Place at the Market.

Spurred by the arrival of light rail in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, boosters and civic leaders see a unique opportunity to give the neighborhood a center of gravity in the form of a plaza adjoining the future light rail station. "Traffic calming" is a key component of woonerf, but a Seattle DOT official commented that woonerf is a concept mostly limited to residential neighborhoods. As a rule, automobiles and pedestrians are segregated for the sake of safety. The Post-Intelligencer names Complete Streets as an organization that, as the name suggests, is seeking to make streets complete by accomodating cyclists and pedestrians. Here's an article about Complete Streets in Planning magazine.

In a health/fitness article, the Los Angeles Times discusses what "walking advocates" are citing as success stories -- America On The Move, which has created a virtual community for walkers; King County, Washington, where walkability has long been a priority; and Denver's Lowry and Stapleton, where:

neighborhood grids link homeowners to stores, restaurants, workplaces and public transport to downtown Denver via tree-lined sidewalks and pedestrian-friendly intersections. Walking groups abound, civic activity revolves around centrally located parks and recreation facilities, and "active living" is marketed by real estate agents. At Lowry, directions to shops and parks are posted in numbers of steps. New residents are welcomed with walking maps, pedometers and lists of walking activities. Many local businesses give patrons who show their pedometers a discount.

Prevention magazine recently published its ranking of "The Best Walking Cities of 2007". Denver's ranking? 22nd. Colorado Springs? 13th. First place? Madison, Wis.

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Quote of the day: "I don't want to be too sophisticated here, but '07 is going to suck, all 12 months of the calendar year." -- D.R. Horton CEO Donald J. Tomnitz, speaking at an investor conference in New York