Venice. Amsterdam. Prague. Paris. These are some cities that are making "ten-most-romantic cities” lists. I just looked at three such sites, and Venice, Prague and Paris were consensus picks. Amsterdam was on two of the lists, as were Rome, Edinburgh, and New York.
What are some of the things these cities have in common?
- Strong sense of place anchored by historic preservation
- Vibrant, walkable, diverse downtowns
- Compact development patterns
- Extensive and well-used public transportation
- Great public spaces for lively human interaction
- Parks and quiet places mixed in with urbanity
- Great traditional neighborhoods with a strong sense of community
Sound familiar? These are the characteristics of smart growth, exactly the elements we want more of in America’s towns and cities. People fall in love with them, and in them, in part because they are so conducive to nourishing the human spirit. And, as I’ve been pointing out in this blog, they are good for the environment, too.
Here are some places that didn’t make a “most romantic” list: Phoenix, Houston, Kansas City, Riverside (the last of those earning the dubious distinction of being America’s “most sprawling” metropolis, according to relevant research), just to name a few. Now, I’m sure the citizens of those fine places can point to many of their terrific attributes and be right about them. I can make a case for romantic Washington, too, which can be a wonderful place to live and love if, like most natives, you don’t get too caught up in the political stuff. But these also-rans still didn’t make anybody’s top-ten list.
So, today of all days, let’s celebrate the ones that did, and make the others more like the winners.
To read the three “most romantic” lists, click here, here, and here.
This post originally appeared on NRDC's Switchboard.
Kaid Benfield writes (almost) daily about community, development, and the environment. For more posts, see his blog's home page. He serves as Director of NRDC's Smart Growth Program in Washington DC. NRDC is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the environment, people and animals. NRDC was founded in 1970 and is comprised of more than 300 lawyers, scientists and policy experts, with more than one million members and e-activists.
