Wednesday, April 08, 2009

No car, no problem + tuberculosis!

I chose not to replace my broken-down car when I moved to Houston for my job. I'd already picked my neighborhood for it's walkability and proximity to public transportation. Aside from trips back to Austin, a car was superfluous. That decision is now numerically quantifiable via this website. I score an 83/100. Ignoring the rampant advertising on the site that might skew the results, how 'bout you?

Also, via that site's Google map of my area, I saw something that I'm shocked I hadn't noticed before. I live fairly close to Houston's old City Tubercular Hospital. Online searches reveal no details. This bears closer examination.

9 comments:

  1. Our apartment got a 77/100, which I think is pretty fair. I do make a point to walk on errands when I can, and to walk to work at least twice a week, although I am probably too easily swayed to take my car sometimes...

    ReplyDelete
  2. 91/100. Unsurprising, really.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 51/100. Apparently my recommended supplier of clothing is the local pet store. Awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 34, pretty abysmal. But I can walk to two libraries, the pool, and the drugstore, and there are a few grocery stores and bars well within biking distance. So that's okay.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Joolie you're practically a suburbanite! (He says mockingly even though he's quite fond of Joolie's house).

    ReplyDelete
  6. I know! It was totally the 'burbs back in the 60s and 70s.

    I do wonder how much the supposedly desirable suburban-ish features--meandering streets, cul-de-sacs, attached garages--contributed to the neighborhood's pretty severe decline in the 80s and 90s.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I suppose 69 ("somewhat walkable") for my address isn't too bad, but I think we deserve better. I almost never drive my car. I have a grocery, pharmacy, dry cleaners, deli and barbershop only a five-minute walk away, one bus line within a quarter mile and another within half a mile.

    ReplyDelete
  8. 58% here, which is skewed a little high by a "restaurant equipment repair" business down the block showing up as a restaurant. On the other hand, there's a number of fast food joints and a mexican place about a half mile away, so it's not too bad.

    ReplyDelete