1) I come from a small town called Coplay in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. Coplay is a suburb of Allentown located just north of the city, right along the Lehigh River. With a population of just over 3,200 people, Coplay would be classified as a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood because of the many shops, restaurants and offices all within walking distance of the residential areas. Growing up I would walk to school everyday with my friends and then grab dinner with them at a local pizza shop just down the road. Living in a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood is nice because on days you can’t make it to the gym, you are still getting a little exercise by walking everywhere and may even find yourself running into a friend or two along the way. The only problem in my town is the amount of traffic coming through from other areas on their way to the main parts of Allentown (especially to downtown).

2) Like my hometown, Beacon Hill in Boston is another example of a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood. Established in the 1800s when walking was the main form of transportation, the neighborhood is set up in such a way that everything you need for day to day life is only a short walk away. Beacon Hill has shown how these pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods are still relevant in urban design today and not just for convenience but also for sustainability. When more people walk rather than drive a car, they are decreasing the amount of emissions let out into the environment. In the lesson it says many people can afford cars but choose not to use them in Beacon Hill. If there was a way that the residents of my hometown could convince the commuters driving into Allentown to take a bus instead, overall quality of the environment would improve. Less traffic means less emissions, just another lesson we could learn from a small neighborhood in Boston.

3) Chicago Illinois is a massive city with 2.7 million people, making it the third largest city in the United States. It may be a bit of an abstract idea to think you can compare Chicago to my hometown of Coplay, which is much smaller in comparison but they both have a common goal, sustainability. Coplay works on being sustainable by promoting healthier ways of transportation to its residents like biking and walking. Chicago uses a system known as urban agriculture to help drastically reduce the transportation time of produce to the grocery stores. This system in return improves air quality and rain water management. I think urban agriculture is a great system and I would love to see this implemented in my own hometown. Not only is it great for the environment but it could be a great community project that would strengthen ties between many of Coplay’s residents.