Walkability Good for City Economy.

From Aditi Shrikant, Vox.

You’ve probably seen the term “walkability” thrown around in relation to cities, neighborhoods, and even apartments. A city’s walkability, per Walk Score, is determined by analyzing how many errands can be done without a car, and cities with the highest scores (like Boston, New York, and San Francisco) often come with an incredibly steep cost of living.

On Walk Score’s one to 100 scale that evaluates cities with a population of 200,000 or more, New York City is the most walkable city in the country with a score of 89, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the least walkable with a score of 29. The average walk score of all American cities with a population of over 200,000 is 49.

Walkability is treated as a static part of a city; your city is either walkable or not. You either need a car or you don’t. But a city’s walkability is dynamic and can be improved with people-oriented city planning, which will benefit the local economy and make societies more equitable.

Walkability is great for the economy

American city planner Jeff Speck has been advocating for walkability for the past 25 years, and in his new book, Walkability City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, he carefully outlines how to “sell” walkability and then implement it.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Zach Neal.

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Co-Working Space an Immediate Success

From Cathy Dobson, Sarnia Journal.


Owners of a new downtown co-working operation say their immediate success is proof positive Sarnia is embracing the concept.

“We’ve proven very quickly there’s a huge need for spaces like this,” said Chris Misch.

He and business partner Scott Palko opened Collide co-working space Sept. 7 and were still making structural improvements to their Front Street offices when clients began knocking at the door.

Co-working spaces provide professional workstations with shared resources to freelancers, small business owners, start-ups and mompreneurs who want social interaction and a workplace outside the home.

Collide – a name meant to suggest the collision of bodies and ideas – offers open concept desks, fresh Blackwater coffee, WiFi, a lounge area, boardroom and washrooms. In the summer, the partners hope to set up a river view patio outside the front door.

It’s a place where networking is possible as well as independent work, said Palko. And it’s low cost.

Link to the rest here.

Image. http://midcenturymodernist.com/2010/culture/film-tv/mad-men-furniture-don-drapers-office/

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The Benefits of Hiring and Retaining Older Workers.

From Louis Pin, Sarnia Observer.

Sarnia’s workforce is not getting any younger. One in every four people in the regional is now 55 years or older and the average age of residents in Sarnia and Lambton County is 45, a full four years older than the provincial mark.

Those numbers are not expected to decrease any time soon.

That’s the crux of a seminar Nov. 7 hosted by the Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board, about how local businesses can improve by hiring and retaining older workers. The employer-focused session will come with two reports surrounding Sarnia’s workforce, local trends, and suggestions for business owners.

“Flexibility is going to be key,” said Shauna Carr, executive director of the development board. “We’re finding a lot of our older folks want to re-enter the workforce . . . if employers are flexible (with their needs) they’re going to get and keep really great older workers.”

Having older workers pays dividends, Carr added, both in teaching younger workers and fostering the soft skills employers say are lacking in the workforce. Those soft skills include teamwork, punctuality, customer service, and other job-applicable actions not addressed in a degree.

It remains one of the qualities most requested by employers in the annual Employer One survey, conducted by the development board every January.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Courtesy Shauna Carr, Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board.

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