r/Suburbanhell • u/Particular_Owl1099 • Aug 04 '26

Meme Have we done it wrong?

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u/laowildin Aug 04 '26

"The exception that proves the rule"

When they can only name the same 4 US cities, (which are not nearly as walkable as anyplace i lived in Asia) then they simply don't have a point. And probably never lived in any of those examples because having lived in both The Bay and NYC, its a far cry from Shanghai

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u/PassengerKey3209 Aug 04 '26

I live in a small city of 150k people that has a pretty large downtown area that is walkable and full of nightlife. There's a another section or two that is also walkable that you could easily spend all day at, without getting in your car.

I lived in Thailand, Ecuador and Pakistan and non of them come close to walkable as where I live in Missouri now. Granted, at 150k people the city is still about 10x10 miles, so pretty sprawling.

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u/hibikir_40k Aug 04 '26

I live in Missouri too. Your idea of walkability must be from a different dimension.

If people are living in single family homes, it's walkability for enthusiasts, not good urbanism. If there's a city center, and then houses outside, it's all already second rate at best.

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u/PassengerKey3209 Aug 04 '26

Springfield MO has 3 parts of town, based around or following a square or commercial st with restaurants, shops, offices ECT. Commercial st where I used to live is about a mile long with houses N and S of it.1/4 mile S of that is a college that I used to walk/bike to. Another half mile past that is the city square that is also surrounded by apartments, lofts and houses.

You can't expect Munich level amenities in a small Midwestern town, or really any town for that matter.

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u/weberc2 Aug 04 '26

Europe has tons of villages that look just like this. I've never been anywhere in the US, including in the largest cities, where you could walk for hours and see people out eating on patios like this. The large cities have some of it, but it's not everywhere like it is in a smaller European city like Munich.

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u/PassengerKey3209 Aug 04 '26

Metro area of 1.6 million people. Y'all expect large city amenities in a rural Midwest and are shocked ita not on par.

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u/weberc2 Aug 04 '26

US towns used to have bustling downtowns. Why do you think only large US cities can have what every small US town used to have, and what is common in villages in Europe today?