Hacker News Reader

Comment by officemonkey | Hacker News Reader

Chicago nails this. The grid road network throughout the entire city means there is regular N-S and E-W bus service every half mile or so. And there are business districts in pretty much every neighborhood.

This happens is areas of low housing density (single-family homes in Jefferson Park) and high density (high-rises in Lincoln Park.)

View on HN

Andersonville in Chicago is wonderful. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Andersonville,+Chicago,+IL&hl...

That's just blocks away from this:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Andersonville,+Chicago,+IL&hl...

I'm not far away in Uptown where the "walkability" index is 97.

The point is these shots are not atypical, it's like this throughout Chicago. Even the "not so good areas" have the same fundamental layout.

Hmm, my experience has been that most places in Chicago are far quicker to drive than take public transit. And since many jobs have moved out of the city center to places like Naperville and Schaumburg, it is very difficult to find public transit options for a commute or reverse commute unless you happen to live within walking distance of Metra.

If you can live and work entirely in the city limits, public transit might work.

I'm only talking about the city of Chicago. Once you get past the innermost (ie: oldest) suburbs (Evanston, Park Ridge, Oak Park, Cicero) you're in Suburban hell.

I'd say your experience is primarily with the suburbs, not the city.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com