The space to discuss Solarpunk itself and Solarpunk related stuff that doesn't fit elsewhere.
Join our chat: Movim or XMPP client.
We also need shittable cities. It is a massive pain to be out without a public restroom, especially at night when the already slim toilet options get locked up. My best strategy has been going to police stations and bothering a cop for a bathroom key at 1am. If nothing else, it's funny.
This. When I see cities without public restrooms (and not just on the most touristy areas) I just assume that they don’t care about their citizens. It’s such a basic need.
In more than one way. When I'm out with my dogs I sometimes have to carry their poop for kilometers because my city can't be bothered to set up some bins along the walkways. The very few that are around are at playgrounds where I'm not allowed to enter with the dogs. And then for whatever reason they realize they've got a bunch left and just install five of them at one place.
I hate that many other people don't pick up after their dogs, but in a way I understand at least some of their frustrations. They're assholes nonetheless.
And there's a good chance you'll be disabled before you even get old.
With how the world seems currently, getting old might not even be on the table
What about shitable cities? We need more free toilets!
Sadly, that doesn’t always help. I’ve lived in a city with several public toilets. Some people would still rather piss on a wall ~30 metres away from the public toilet rather than use it.
They probably reduced the amount of people doing that, though.
Yeah, going on a roadtrip with my mum is a constant quest for reaching the next toilet, often relying on the goodwill and staff toilets of stores. And there's genuinely trips she just cannot or does not do, because there's no toilets on the way.
Absolute insanity to me that we've outlawed peeing outside, without having free toilets available everywhere.
From What is a Walkable city:
These spaces incorporate elements like seating areas, public art installations, water features, and greenery, enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal and providing a respite from the built environment.
and
Ample green spaces, street trees, and seating areas provide comfortable resting spots and encourage people to enjoy their surroundings.
So... yes? Like I know it might be cathartic to someone driving-by (heh) the concept, but seating is very much in the design of walkable cities.
I think their point is that even in situations that able bodied people might consider to have "ample seating," it may not be enough for those with disabilities. 3 minutes of walking between benches, I'd say, would probably be considered pretty ample seating by most city planners. It would be no where near enough for my dad, or for my mom before she went full time in the wheelchair. One solution to this could be something along the lines of the little carts they have at Walmart, but like, owned by the city and able to be checked out for free, combined with some people with mobility issues actually getting a say in how the city is planned out, and where the ramps and stuff are for the sidewalks.
Hrm. Tokyo probably wouldn't be considered a walkable city in that person's view. Benches can be thin once you get outside the station area. Most people live within 20 minutes of their station (rents drop dramatically after that in most cases), but 3 would probably be too expensive, especially for a pensioner (not sure how old this self-proclaimed old person is). Tokyo is doing better than it used to in terms of escalators and elevators, but a lot of places still just have stairs for now. I certainly wouldn't want to be in a wheelchair or on crutches around here, though it's mostly doable.
My first thought: Tokyo is highly walkable but not sittable. You are always supposed to go somewhere. You sit at your destination or in the subway.
We do have a lot of small parks, but basically yes
I don’t think they referred to themselves as old. I think they’re disabled and bringing up the fact that old people have similar issues because everyone gets old.
OK, I can see that interpretation, too.
I think people were laughing less at the sentiment, and more at the "send tweet" at the end.
I know I was.
My city removed all the benches during covid, but they didn't give them back. So I bought a BAGOBAGO for my parents. (backpack you can sit on)
My aging engineer of a father had an idea for a great design that keep getting updated in my head. He said he would like some kind of passive exoskeleton strapped on his legs and pelvis. When sitting though, it would put some springs in tension that would then help him lift back up. I think it could also be designed to have a locked mode to "sit" comfortably against any straight wall/tree.
I wonder how much weight an effective design would add. It would probably need to be made out of some decent material, which would probably drive up the cost.
Aluminium would probably suffice, I doubt it would add more than a kilogram even if made of steel. You need an articulation that can hold let's say 150kg for an overweight person putting all their weight on one leg. It is not a crazy mechanical constraint. Bikes handle more with lightweight structure and more complex mechanisms.
So much this
Also, what's three minutes for one person could be ten or twenty for someone else who can barely stand for five
There's a restaurant I like to go to that if you have certain disabilities, good luck getting there. The closest handicap parking spot is a block and a half away and there's only one, or a bit further there are a few in a parking garage. It's an uphill incline to get there and there's not a single bench the entire way between parking and the restaurant. If you're disabled but not to the point of being in a wheelchair, or don't have someone who can push that wheelchair uphill, and don't have a mobility scooter, you ain't getting there
And that's with our current car infrastructure, and just one example out of many of disabled hostile design in our car centric reality that people who've not had to navigate it from that perspective just don't understand. And they never bother asking someone who does experience it. So, I'm pretty tired of hearing the bullshit excuse of how it would be bad for disabled people if we went to walkable cities with public transit.
Stop using disabled people as your gotcha argument
I saw this in Hong Kong, which I know isnt known for its walkability or anything but it has amazing public transport you can get anywhere to, and then it has like absolutely no sits anywhere... if there were they are taken by the other thousands that are looking for a sit hahaha
If 3 minutes is too far of a walk you may need a mobility scooter/other mobility aid.
Quickest thing to notice about the part of the town I'm in near the senior center, where the walking trails go through it there's SIGNIFICANTLY more seating and trash cans. There's benches spaced out around the rest of town too but honestly the buses are probably more reliable for that, unless it's a busy day or time and you have to stand there too. Downtown has a lot of public seating too but the spacing is weird and it's just a busy area where that seating might be taken, or sticky, because there's a bunch of ice cream shops over there and people dripping or spilling has become enough of an issue that it's not uncommon to see a "NO ICE CREAM" sign.
Huh?
Sits on the ground
I don't know what's going on here.
send tweet