Can We Walk Here? Ruminations on Adelaide’s Urban and City Planning
Linking arms, Mum and I left the thrift store in search of the toilets. We traversed through a busy car park devoid of pedestrian paths or crossings and had no choice but to cut directly across a drive-through to Hungry Jacks. It felt dangerous. Since our anxious steps moved along the oily road during our shopping excursion (now weeks ago), I have been mulling over the inadequacies of Adelaide's city and urban planning. A lack of designated safe areas for pedestrians in a mixed-use shopping zone exposes us to risks and increases the likelihood of accidents caused by negligent design. Protecting pedestrians from traffic and giving priority to the disabled, young, and elderly should be of paramount importance. Our city's layout, with its sprawling suburbs (often defended by our policymakers ) and reliance on cars, starkly contrasts other places I have lived in, such as Amsterdam, which has more inclusive and walkable urban environments . Historically, the evolution of suburban d