#walkable — Public Fediverse posts

So many Vegas visits, still so few for fun

Landing at Dulles Wednesday evening closed out my 45th work trip to Las Vegas. That number alone is not something to take pride in and probably constitutes evidence of some character defect, but what’s even more disturbing is that since my first trip to Vegas in 1998–for CES, of course–I have still only been there three times for fun.

This lifestyle long ago rendered me incapable of dealing with that city however normal people do. Instead, having the event formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show dominate my experience of Vegas–I’m now at 28 trips there just for the Consumer Technology Association’s convention, still one of the most important events on my work calendar–keeps subjecting me to the place at its most expensive and least efficient.

Even smaller-scale conferences like Black Hat (with six trips so far, it’s become about as essential as CES but easier to monetize) and the NAB Show (where I moderated a panel this week, with the National Association of Broadcasters covering airfare and lodging) leave me happier to take off from LAS than to land there.

It’s not that I can’t enjoy a little time in the glitziest corner of Nevada. You can eat exceedingly well there, and Vegas service-industry folks are some of the best in the world. Blackjack can be fun, as long as you remember that you should at least try to lose slowly.

If you drive far enough off the Strip, you can see some striking natural scenery. It took CES to remind me of that last bit, in the form of an outing in 2025 to Lake Mead to experience an electric sport boat.

And there is some exceptional lodging in Vegas, although I’ve also stayed at some of the crummier ones. I started trying to inventory the hotels I’ve stayed at from the Strip up to the convention center (thus excluding off-strip properties like the Palms and a few places in downtown Las Vegas as well as two Airbnbs) and quickly realized they exceed the number of ballparks I’ve visited.

From south to north: Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo (today Park MGM), Cosmopolitan, Hilton Grand Vacations, Bally’s (now the Horseshoe), Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood), Palms, Flamingo, Westin, Imperial Palace (the worst among the lot, fortunately now the Linq), Harrah’s, Mirage (demolished, being replaced by a Hard Rock Hotel in the shape of a guitar), Treasure Island, Wynn, Renaissance, Westgate, Fontainebleau (I’d rank that the best). 

But however nice the hotel may have been, there’s no getting around how much I dislike the auto-centric, pedestrian-hostile nature of the streets outside. Unless you can start and end a conference commute on the monorail–this week’s trip, unlike most, allowed that–you will sit in traffic.

The only improvements to Vegas transportation since 1998 have been on the margins: the monorail, Uber and Lyft liberating visitors from taxis that charge $3 extra for credit-card payment, the Vegas Loop’s tunnels, and the advent of autonomous vehicles from Zoox and, soon, Waymo.

Even walking up and down the Strip is less efficient than it should be once you enter a building, since casino floors are where readable layouts and clear signage go to die.

I grew up someplace where you had to drive everywhere; I never want to live like that again and don’t enjoy visiting places that seem intent on making that a perpetual default. I am much happier to have my travel destination be a more human-scaled city where it’s normal and enjoyable to get around by walking and transit; the contrast between CES in Vegas and MWC in Barcelona is glaring and entirely in Spain’s favor.

I think of that every time one industry-analyst friend who moved from the Bay Area to a Vegas suburb tries to sell me on the same move. My response is always some version of “there is nothing you could say to make me ever want to do that.”

And yet work keeps pulling me to Vegas anyway. This week’s trip was my third this year, with one more planned, and I already know next year will feature at least three. I should probably seek treatment for this condition at some point.

So many Vegas visits, still so few for fun

Landing at Dulles Wednesday evening closed out my 45th work trip to Las Vegas. That number alone is not something to take pride in and probably constitutes evidence of some character defect, but what’s even more disturbing is that since my first trip to Vegas in 1998–for CES, of course–I have still only been there three times for fun.

This lifestyle long ago rendered me incapable of dealing with that city however normal people do. Instead, having the event formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show dominate my experience of Vegas–I’m now at 28 trips there just for the Consumer Technology Association’s convention, still one of the most important events on my work calendar–keeps subjecting me to the place at its most expensive and least efficient.

Even smaller-scale conferences like Black Hat (with six trips so far, it’s become about as essential as CES but easier to monetize) and the NAB Show (where I moderated a panel this week, with the National Association of Broadcasters covering airfare and lodging) leave me happier to take off from LAS than to land there.

It’s not that I can’t enjoy a little time in the glitziest corner of Nevada. You can eat exceedingly well there, and Vegas service-industry folks are some of the best in the world. Blackjack can be fun, as long as you remember that you should at least try to lose slowly.

If you drive far enough off the Strip, you can see some striking natural scenery. It took CES to remind me of that last bit, in the form of an outing in 2025 to Lake Mead to experience an electric sport boat.

And there is some exceptional lodging in Vegas, although I’ve also stayed at some of the crummier ones. I started trying to inventory the hotels I’ve stayed at from the Strip up to the convention center (thus excluding off-strip properties like the Palms and a few places in downtown Las Vegas as well as two Airbnbs) and quickly realized they exceed the number of ballparks I’ve visited.

From south to north: Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo (today Park MGM), Cosmopolitan, Hilton Grand Vacations, Bally’s (now the Horseshoe), Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood), Palms, Flamingo, Westin, Imperial Palace (the worst among the lot, fortunately now the Linq), Harrah’s, Mirage (demolished, being replaced by a Hard Rock Hotel in the shape of a guitar), Treasure Island, Wynn, Renaissance, Westgate, Fontainebleau (I’d rank that the best). 

But however nice the hotel may have been, there’s no getting around how much I dislike the auto-centric, pedestrian-hostile nature of the streets outside. Unless you can start and end a conference commute on the monorail–this week’s trip, unlike most, allowed that–you will sit in traffic.

The only improvements to Vegas transportation since 1998 have been on the margins: the monorail, Uber and Lyft liberating visitors from taxis that charge $3 extra for credit-card payment, the Vegas Loop’s tunnels, and the advent of autonomous vehicles from Zoox and, soon, Waymo.

Even walking up and down the Strip is less efficient than it should be once you enter a building, since casino floors are where readable layouts and clear signage go to die.

I grew up someplace where you had to drive everywhere; I never want to live like that again and don’t enjoy visiting places that seem intent on making that a perpetual default. I am much happier to have my travel destination be a more human-scaled city where it’s normal and enjoyable to get around by walking and transit; the contrast between CES in Vegas and MWC in Barcelona is glaring and entirely in Spain’s favor.

I think of that every time one industry-analyst friend who moved from the Bay Area to a Vegas suburb tries to sell me on the same move. My response is always some version of “there is nothing you could say to make me ever want to do that.”

And yet work keeps pulling me to Vegas anyway. This week’s trip was my third this year, with one more planned, and I already know next year will feature at least three. I should probably seek treatment for this condition at some point.

So many Vegas visits, still so few for fun

Landing at Dulles Wednesday evening closed out my 45th work trip to Las Vegas. That number alone is not something to take pride in and probably constitutes evidence of some character defect, but what’s even more disturbing is that since my first trip to Vegas in 1998–for CES, of course–I have still only been there three times for fun.

This lifestyle long ago rendered me incapable of dealing with that city however normal people do. Instead, having the event formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show dominate my experience of Vegas–I’m now at 28 trips there just for the Consumer Technology Association’s convention, still one of the most important events on my work calendar–keeps subjecting me to the place at its most expensive and least efficient.

Even smaller-scale conferences like Black Hat (with six trips so far, it’s become about as essential as CES but easier to monetize) and the NAB Show (where I moderated a panel this week, with the National Association of Broadcasters covering airfare and lodging) leave me happier to take off from LAS than to land there.

It’s not that I can’t enjoy a little time in the glitziest corner of Nevada. You can eat exceedingly well there, and Vegas service-industry folks are some of the best in the world. Blackjack can be fun, as long as you remember that you should at least try to lose slowly.

If you drive far enough off the Strip, you can see some striking natural scenery. It took CES to remind me of that last bit, in the form of an outing in 2025 to Lake Mead to experience an electric sport boat.

And there is some exceptional lodging in Vegas, although I’ve also stayed at some of the crummier ones. I started trying to inventory the hotels I’ve stayed at from the Strip up to the convention center (thus excluding off-strip properties like the Palms and a few places in downtown Las Vegas as well as two Airbnbs) and quickly realized they exceed the number of ballparks I’ve visited.

From south to north: Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo (today Park MGM), Cosmopolitan, Hilton Grand Vacations, Bally’s (now the Horseshoe), Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood), Palms, Flamingo, Westin, Imperial Palace (the worst among the lot, fortunately now the Linq), Harrah’s, Mirage (demolished, being replaced by a Hard Rock Hotel in the shape of a guitar), Treasure Island, Wynn, Renaissance, Westgate, Fontainebleau (I’d rank that the best). 

But however nice the hotel may have been, there’s no getting around how much I dislike the auto-centric, pedestrian-hostile nature of the streets outside. Unless you can start and end a conference commute on the monorail–this week’s trip, unlike most, allowed that–you will sit in traffic.

The only improvements to Vegas transportation since 1998 have been on the margins: the monorail, Uber and Lyft liberating visitors from taxis that charge $3 extra for credit-card payment, the Vegas Loop’s tunnels, and the advent of autonomous vehicles from Zoox and, soon, Waymo.

Even walking up and down the Strip is less efficient than it should be once you enter a building, since casino floors are where readable layouts and clear signage go to die.

I grew up someplace where you had to drive everywhere; I never want to live like that again and don’t enjoy visiting places that seem intent on making that a perpetual default. I am much happier to have my travel destination be a more human-scaled city where it’s normal and enjoyable to get around by walking and transit; the contrast between CES in Vegas and MWC in Barcelona is glaring and entirely in Spain’s favor.

I think of that every time one industry-analyst friend who moved from the Bay Area to a Vegas suburb tries to sell me on the same move. My response is always some version of “there is nothing you could say to make me ever want to do that.”

And yet work keeps pulling me to Vegas anyway. This week’s trip was my third this year, with one more planned, and I already know next year will feature at least three. I should probably seek treatment for this condition at some point.

So many Vegas visits, still so few for fun

Landing at Dulles Wednesday evening closed out my 45th work trip to Las Vegas. That number alone is not something to take pride in and probably constitutes evidence of some character defect, but what’s even more disturbing is that since my first trip to Vegas in 1998–for CES, of course–I have still only been there three times for fun.

This lifestyle long ago rendered me incapable of dealing with that city however normal people do. Instead, having the event formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show dominate my experience of Vegas–I’m now at 28 trips there just for the Consumer Technology Association’s convention, still one of the most important events on my work calendar–keeps subjecting me to the place at its most expensive and least efficient.

Even smaller-scale conferences like Black Hat (with six trips so far, it’s become about as essential as CES but easier to monetize) and the NAB Show (where I moderated a panel this week, with the National Association of Broadcasters covering airfare and lodging) leave me happier to take off from LAS than to land there.

It’s not that I can’t enjoy a little time in the glitziest corner of Nevada. You can eat exceedingly well there, and Vegas service-industry folks are some of the best in the world. Blackjack can be fun, as long as you remember that you should at least try to lose slowly.

If you drive far enough off the Strip, you can see some striking natural scenery. It took CES to remind me of that last bit, in the form of an outing in 2025 to Lake Mead to experience an electric sport boat.

And there is some exceptional lodging in Vegas, although I’ve also stayed at some of the crummier ones. I started trying to inventory the hotels I’ve stayed at from the Strip up to the convention center (thus excluding off-strip properties like the Palms and a few places in downtown Las Vegas as well as two Airbnbs) and quickly realized they exceed the number of ballparks I’ve visited.

From south to north: Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo (today Park MGM), Cosmopolitan, Hilton Grand Vacations, Bally’s (now the Horseshoe), Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood), Palms, Flamingo, Westin, Imperial Palace (the worst among the lot, fortunately now the Linq), Harrah’s, Mirage (demolished, being replaced by a Hard Rock Hotel in the shape of a guitar), Treasure Island, Wynn, Renaissance, Westgate, Fontainebleau (I’d rank that the best). 

But however nice the hotel may have been, there’s no getting around how much I dislike the auto-centric, pedestrian-hostile nature of the streets outside. Unless you can start and end a conference commute on the monorail–this week’s trip, unlike most, allowed that–you will sit in traffic.

The only improvements to Vegas transportation since 1998 have been on the margins: the monorail, Uber and Lyft liberating visitors from taxis that charge $3 extra for credit-card payment, the Vegas Loop’s tunnels, and the advent of autonomous vehicles from Zoox and, soon, Waymo.

Even walking up and down the Strip is less efficient than it should be once you enter a building, since casino floors are where readable layouts and clear signage go to die.

I grew up someplace where you had to drive everywhere; I never want to live like that again and don’t enjoy visiting places that seem intent on making that a perpetual default. I am much happier to have my travel destination be a more human-scaled city where it’s normal and enjoyable to get around by walking and transit; the contrast between CES in Vegas and MWC in Barcelona is glaring and entirely in Spain’s favor.

I think of that every time one industry-analyst friend who moved from the Bay Area to a Vegas suburb tries to sell me on the same move. My response is always some version of “there is nothing you could say to make me ever want to do that.”

And yet work keeps pulling me to Vegas anyway. This week’s trip was my third this year, with one more planned, and I already know next year will feature at least three. I should probably seek treatment for this condition at some point.

#Sidewalks were built for one purpose in the 1800s, then changed mission in the 20th century. They declined in popularity in one period, only to become popular again… along with a new thing, urban trails. At each turn, gov’t played a big role. http://www.fromthegovt.com/sidewalks-and-trails/ #walkable

Ready for the next great urban battle? It may be about robot delivery of packages and the sidewalks they use to get from Point A to Point B … sidewalks that are often already congested. OK, city #DOTs: Isn’t it time to think about wider sidewalks or special street lanes for delivery? And how about some rules for robots? https://www.wbez.org/technology/2026/02/12/what-to-know-robot-delivery-in-chicago #walkable

https://ggwash.org/view/101707/montgomery-county-sidewalks-mcdot-vision-zero-marc-elrich “None of the proposed sidewalks will be installed” #MoCo #walkable #StrangerDanger #GGWash

https://ggwash.org/view/101707/montgomery-county-sidewalks-mcdot-vision-zero-marc-elrich “None of the proposed sidewalks will be installed” #MoCo #walkable #StrangerDanger #GGWash

https://ggwash.org/view/101707/montgomery-county-sidewalks-mcdot-vision-zero-marc-elrich “None of the proposed sidewalks will be installed” #MoCo #walkable #StrangerDanger #GGWash

https://ggwash.org/view/101707/montgomery-county-sidewalks-mcdot-vision-zero-marc-elrich “None of the proposed sidewalks will be installed” #MoCo #walkable #StrangerDanger #GGWash

https://ggwash.org/view/101707/montgomery-county-sidewalks-mcdot-vision-zero-marc-elrich “None of the proposed sidewalks will be installed” #MoCo #walkable #StrangerDanger #GGWash

Thanks to Hannah Davis-Reid for covering this. I of course like this quote from my friend Peter Krebs: “Actually protecting the environment and preserving rural lands requires having good, healthy, walkable places for people to live in towns” https://www.vpm.org/news/2025-12-03/barracks-emmet-street-vdot-smart-scale-meadowbrook-greenshire-public-private #VPM #PEC #walkable #conservation

Tony connecting the future with the past. He has been farming for 50 years using #regenerative farming practices. As a society we need to develop an ecological/regenerative #agriculture around and within our urban centres where food is grown with a minimum of energy inputs and a maximum of ecological design. We need to redesign our cities to be #walkable, #bikeable, #breathable and #livable . Where most of the energy to make the city function comes from the food we eat. #NDP #cdnpoli #organic

#Sidewalks were built for one purpose in the 1800s, then changed mission in the 20th century. They declined in popularity in one period, only to become popular again… along with a new thing, urban trails. At each turn, gov’t played a big role. http://www.fromthegovt.com/sidewalks-and-trails/ #walkable

I'd like to think that the rise of #DeliveryRobots might lead to more #accessible and #walkable cities, but it is probably only a matter of time before they are outlawed on sidewalks and forced out onto the dangerous streets with the bicyclists.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNgFqolNZE1/

I'd like to think that the rise of #DeliveryRobots might lead to more #accessible and #walkable cities, but it is probably only a matter of time before they are outlawed on sidewalks and forced out onto the dangerous streets with the bicyclists.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNgFqolNZE1/

I'd like to think that the rise of #DeliveryRobots might lead to more #accessible and #walkable cities, but it is probably only a matter of time before they are outlawed on sidewalks and forced out onto the dangerous streets with the bicyclists.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNgFqolNZE1/

I'd like to think that the rise of #DeliveryRobots might lead to more #accessible and #walkable cities, but it is probably only a matter of time before they are outlawed on sidewalks and forced out onto the dangerous streets with the bicyclists.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNgFqolNZE1/

I'd like to think that the rise of #DeliveryRobots might lead to more #accessible and #walkable cities, but it is probably only a matter of time before they are outlawed on sidewalks and forced out onto the dangerous streets with the bicyclists.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNgFqolNZE1/

Getting around in the suburbs can often be very frustrating and confusing, and unfortunately it’s only made way easier when you're in a car. We can change that!
#urbanism #walkable #suburb https://theneworleans.ca/2025/07/19/the-orleans-maze-untangling-the-curvy-streets/

https://www.29news.com/2025/07/08/charlottesville-community-members-voice-concern-frustration-over-voided-zoning-ordinance/ “Although Judge Worell’s decision is a setback, we are not deterred in our goal to make Charlottesville a place where all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds can call home” #cville #zoning #shortage #desegregation #diversity #housing #walkable

https://www.29news.com/2025/07/08/charlottesville-community-members-voice-concern-frustration-over-voided-zoning-ordinance/ “Although Judge Worell’s decision is a setback, we are not deterred in our goal to make Charlottesville a place where all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds can call home” #cville #zoning #shortage #desegregation #diversity #housing #walkable

https://www.29news.com/2025/07/08/charlottesville-community-members-voice-concern-frustration-over-voided-zoning-ordinance/ “Although Judge Worell’s decision is a setback, we are not deterred in our goal to make Charlottesville a place where all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds can call home” #cville #zoning #shortage #desegregation #diversity #housing #walkable

https://www.29news.com/2025/07/08/charlottesville-community-members-voice-concern-frustration-over-voided-zoning-ordinance/ “Although Judge Worell’s decision is a setback, we are not deterred in our goal to make Charlottesville a place where all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds can call home” #cville #zoning #shortage #desegregation #diversity #housing #walkable

https://www.29news.com/2025/07/08/charlottesville-community-members-voice-concern-frustration-over-voided-zoning-ordinance/ “Although Judge Worell’s decision is a setback, we are not deterred in our goal to make Charlottesville a place where all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds can call home” #cville #zoning #shortage #desegregation #diversity #housing #walkable

#Mass #Car #Ownership began in the late 1960s.
It will end in the late 2030s.
Car ownership will simply be unaffordable for most people.
NOW is the time for countries to #Invest heavily in cheap, #Ecologically #Responsible, #Public #Transport, and to make cities #Walkable.

#Buses #Trams #Trains

Later will be too late.

#Mass #Car #Ownership began in the late 1960s.
It will end in the late 2030s.
Car ownership will simply be unaffordable for most people.
NOW is the time for countries to #Invest heavily in cheap, #Ecologically #Responsible, #Public #Transport, and to make cities #Walkable.

#Buses #Trams #Trains

Later will be too late.

#Mass #Car #Ownership began in the late 1960s.
It will end in the late 2030s.
Car ownership will simply be unaffordable for most people.
NOW is the time for countries to #Invest heavily in cheap, #Ecologically #Responsible, #Public #Transport, and to make cities #Walkable.

#Buses #Trams #Trains

Later will be too late.

#Mass #Car #Ownership began in the late 1960s.
It will end in the late 2030s.
Car ownership will simply be unaffordable for most people.
NOW is the time for countries to #Invest heavily in cheap, #Ecologically #Responsible, #Public #Transport, and to make cities #Walkable.

#Buses #Trams #Trains

Later will be too late.

#Mass #Car #Ownership began in the late 1960s.
It will end in the late 2030s.
Car ownership will simply be unaffordable for most people.
NOW is the time for countries to #Invest heavily in cheap, #Ecologically #Responsible, #Public #Transport, and to make cities #Walkable.

#Buses #Trams #Trains

Later will be too late.

#Europe beats the US for #walkable, #livable cities, study shows
#Cities such as Zurich and Dublin found to have key services accessible within 15 minutes for more than 95% of residents

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/16/europe-beats-the-us-for-walkable-livable-cities-study-shows

Gotta love #AdamSomething
#Urbanism #traffication #thewaroncars #fuckcars #Walkable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie5hOGMsgNQ

:ablobsigh:

#walkscore #bikescore #walkable #walkablecity #walkableStreets #biking #cycling #activetransportation

Americans LOVE #walkable cities, look at any theme park, lifestyle center, or outdoor mall!

But we won't build that way where we live. Our politicians feed us car culture and we lap it up like fools.

#walkablecities #walkableStreets #walkability #carculture #CarBrain #fuckcars #pedestrians #urbanism #universalstudios #orlando #orlandofl

The Strange Villainization of the Walkable City | The New Republic
https://newrepublic.com/article/181593/strange-villainization-walkable-city-15-minute-moreno-book #qanon #climatechange #walkable #walkablecity #walkableStreets #walkablecities #reactionary #reactionaries #urbanism

@straphanger
#Walkable #Livable

Some time ago I tried fixing a problem the hard way and found a much easier way to do the same thing.

We are living in a world where we talk more with people on the other side of the world than people nearby.

Yet we are rightfully worried about things that give away where we are. We cannot really engage with social media that will dox us.

So I was playing around with #PlusCodes. They have this funny property that they are layered: every two digits you get a level deeper, and you can cut off the first part to have a shorter code that still tells a place in your neighborhood.

OR you cut of the last part to describe a bigger #region.

I found out that if you cut it to six digits, you get a region that is about the size of a village or a city neighborhood that is #walkable, without giving any data that actually doxes you.

I implemented this on https://whenwhere.cf (the big code at the top is your actual exact location in #PlusCode format, be careful about giving that to other people! the thing you need is the #geo something tag)

You can use this hashtag to talk about rough locations, and because it's just a hashtag, you don't need complicated stuff to figure out if stuff happens nearby to you. Also you can easily figure out the #hashtags of #neighborhoods around it.

We can probably use this together with a.gup.pe groups to do things like comment about nice nature, set up local trades and similar stuff that needs #location awareness.

Can you help me give this system a nice and memorable name, and spread awareness and usage?

We can probably add four digit or even two digit code tags for the early days to make it easier to find people in a much wider region...

And if someone is around #geo8ccgqv #geo8ccg #geo8c #lisbon, maybe we should meet up! (I recommend to add name based tags to increase reach for people who look for places by name of course)

#GeoHashtags #SuggestABetterName