When I first arrived in Saint Louis as a new inhabitant, I laced up my Colorado hiking boots, stocked my backpack with peanuts, filled my water bottle with Red Gatorade, and walked out my front door for a “city hike.” Using a map I had printed from Google, I meandered for ten miles and five hours around the city. If Lewis and Clark were still around, they’d have laughed at me. They started from Saint Louis in 1804 and traveled 8,000 miles in just over two years. Although my city excursion is not the stuff of legend, it still gave me a small sense of exploration as I stumbled upon old courthouses, museums, pubs, libraries, and monuments. Being without a car in a city with a limited transit system, I simply found my way on foot. Making cities “walkable” again has become an imperative for urban planners seeking to lure populations back from the sprawling suburbs. Consultants such as Walkable Communities Inc. encourage city officials and developers to literally “think on your feet.” An increasing number of websites are also devoted to helping residents find homes with restaurants, parks, and other amenities within walking distance. Walkscore.com allows users to type in their address and instantly receive a “walkability score.” I recently moved away from what PBS Television called one of the “Most Walkable Communities in America”: Boston. Cities hoping to empower pedestrians could learn much from the birthplace of the Revolution. In addition to spending billions of dollars to hide its highway underground, Boston spent almost nothing to make the “Freedom Trail” — a red line painted on three miles of cobblestone sidewalks and streets.

Read the original here Michael Koenigs: Hiking in Cities