Factors leading to demand for walkable neighborhoods

Dowell Myers and Elizabeth Gearin of the University of Southern California list six factors that — along with the aging of the population — could lead more and more people to prefer denser, walkable neighborhoods. The six factors exist to varying degrees in many cities. They are: • Mounting traffic congestion. • Decreased crime. • Immigration and enhanced urban vitality. • Growth of the “café culture.” • Fashionable design of higher density for the middle class. • Positive examples created by growing densification.