City streets, unlike freeways, naturally support a variety of transportation modes; and they can support those modes even better if we implement complete street design principles that calm traffic, and prioritize a high-quality pedestrian streetscape above moving cars faster. By proposing that intersection-dense street networks qualify as a single project unit for the purposes of stimulus funding, CNU’s proposal shifts investment away from freeways and toward our nation’s neglected city centers.

Under the proposal, any street in a qualifying network could be enhanced with stimulus money. Note that this does involve spending money on the roads themselves. Roads should be kept in good working condition. Given that some money must be spent on road networks, it is preferable to invest in city streets, because funds can be applied both to repaving and to creating complete streets that are friendly and accessible to all users no matter their travel mode.

The result will be increased concentration of human and economic activity in our cities — in the exact areas where trips are generally shorter, and where it is often easier to walk, bike, or take transit than it is to drive. And as noted above, a high-quality pedestrian experience is absolutely central to the success of this vision. Attractive, walkable, complete streets encourage people to shift to other modes and reduce their automobile usage, and they carry great economic benefits for cities.

My emphasis in bold, line breaks added for legibility. Eric’s thoughts heavily influenced my previous riff on urban infrastructure.

Imagine streets oriented to the human scale: peaceful, walkable, supporting both a density and diversity of development. This is not only a vision for New York or San Francisco, this was the blueprint of small towns and close-knit communities before the birth of the automobile, and as such it can be applied anywhere in America to reinvigorate what was once lost. Coupled with light rail to link adjacent communities, it forms the basis for a genuine rebirth of our neighborhoods and cities.

Again, I don’t expect Obama to fund these projects in year one, but I do hope that his administration strongly advocates for sustainable development, and shifts to making wise investments in the infrastructure that can benefit the greatest number of people. We can no longer afford to support the suburban model, we must recognize that and get over it, then move forward with more a sustainable approach to organizing our communities and cities.