An article in the New York Times reported on a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania questioning what kind of information travels fastest through social networks and why? A six-month intensive study of the most-emailed articles in the New York Times revealed some very interesting trends.
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In addition to the social, experiential and public benefits of walkable and transit-oriented cities, there are also many economic benefits to be considered.
An article published in the New York Times in January of 2010 reported that some real estate agents were beginning to consider walkability an important factor in determining the value of a location. A study by C.E.O.’s for Cities looked at the 100-point scale Walk Score and the corresponding values of homes and neighborhoods. Data and observations have shown that home in more walk-friendly neighborhoods sold for higher than homes in other neighborhoods, and that the value of the walkable homes declined less in the recent recession.
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“We are turning into a nation of whimpering slaves to Fear—fear of war, fear of poverty, fear of random terrorism, fear of getting down-sized or fired because of the plunging economy, fear of getting evicted for bad debts or suddenly getting locked up in a military detention camp on vague charges of being a Terrorist sympathizer.”
Hunter S. Thompson —”Extreme Behavior in Aspen,” February 3, 2003
In similar veins of exploration to previous posts on storytelling and surveillance, this post will seek to examine how the stories told in our 24-hour media culture affect our vision of the world; our perceived reality. As previously discussed, storytelling plays a large part in cultural transmission and learning. So what affects are seen when we embed ourselves in an environment of stories about disaster, disease, death and terrorism?
