A Carless Design 2

This is part two of a series on carless city design. It's largely based on J.H. Crawford's design in Carfree Cities

(www.carfree.com), but attempts to flesh out other details regarding economic, cultural and legal issues.

In part 1 (http://www.hitmenforhire.com/a_carless_design_1) I described how a city can be constructed with a number of high-density bubbles with only footpaths as streets. These bubble districts can be assumed to be strung together in a line with a street car system cutting through the middle of each one. In part 2 I discuss by example some of the advantages of having districts of a city in discrete bubbles instead of in a continuous grid.

Autonomy of districts: Because the districts are only connected at a one point, districts can be made more autonomous than in a traditional city. For example, the equivalent of magnet schools can be developed on a community scale with districts catering to specific demographics. There are already parts of cities that are more of a draw to families, and some the elderly, and so on, but how often does each district get to decide its own noise bylaws? Having discrete districts with a physical separation allows each part of the city to specialize for the good of the people within that district.

Some sample districts:
The Party District: Residents of the party district can expect to find alcohol available within walking distance through numerous pubs and liquor stores, as well as affordable hotels nearly for a safe place to fall asleep. Business hours and city services (garbage collection, etc.) in the party district are shifted three hours ahead, as are the relatively lax noise bylaws.
The Party District is also distinct from the rest of the city in its lack of elementary and high schools. It's also recommended that a police station be placed near the district. Additionally, age restrictions on the tenants of a party district may apply.

The Family District is the antithesis of the party district: stricter noise bylaws, more schools than ordinary and no liquor stores. In traditional cities, the Family District would be replaced by a suburb. In this district there are more family doctors as well as more of a focus on pediactrics. There are fewer than the average number of commercial outlets in the first floors of the buildings, but of the ones available are filled with family restaurants and clothing stores that will naturally want a place in the family district for the demographic sweet spot it offers. Some family districts may require criminal background checks of their tenants, given that nearly half of some the residents are underage.

Retirement Districts would be similar to Family Districts in bylaw makeup. Some of the first floor would be set aside for residences instead of public schools, and the commercial parts of the first floor would be geared more towards the elderly. What sets a retirement district apart is the accessibility of the buildings. Every building would be equipped with an elevator and many would have a set of ramps to wheel into and out of more easily. Hallways may also be made wider to accommodate walkers.
Although districts are large enough to warrant an on-call paramedic at the centre of every district, emergency services would be expanded for a retirement district. These districts should be placed close to hospitals as well.

Language Districts are not a new feature of cities, but with the increased autonomy of districts a language district will have the ability to require that all businesses in that district speak the language. This district would also make an ideal place for foreign consulates; by formalizing a certain district as the French district, that district could be marked with a Quebecois or French emblem on maps so that even if visitors don't speak the language of wherever this hypothetic city is they should be able to find their way to their language district.

Allergy Districts are meant to fix a balance of needs. There are various substances like peanuts and certain fragrances that can trigger severe reactions in a small proportion of a population. But often these people have a difficult time in life because their needs aren't precieved to outweigh the general population's need for these products. In an allergy district, there is a ban on a host of allergenic substances so that people with severe allergies can go through most of their daily lives without worrying about having an attack, and people in other districts can enjoy their peanuts, oranges, and fragrances.