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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio)— A new report wants neighborhoods in Massachusetts to become more walkable.
This report, done by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership and Boston Indicators, calls for what are known as 15-minute neighborhoods. WBZ's Karyn Regal (@karynregal) spoke with Luc Schuster of Boston Indicators about what constitutes a 15-minute neighborhood.
"The idea is that we ought to be building dense, vibrant, mixed use neighborhoods where people can walk to all the basic necessities of life within a 15 minute walk from their home," Schuster said.
These neighborhoods would make it so everything from public transit, schools, shopping areas, and more would all be accessible by foot from within 15 minutes of a persons home.
Making this proposal a reality would not be easy though. While there are a lot of areas in the Greater Boston Area that meet these requirements, much of the state is not zoned for this type of neighborhood.
Any attempts to bring a 15-minute neighborhood to communities beyond the Greater Boston Area would require zoning law reforms and a large expansion of public transit like the commuter rail.
"Capitalizing on the opportunity will require policy changes to improve housing access, mobility infrastructure and equitable economic development," the report details.
WBZ's Karyn Regal (@karynregal) has the story.
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