On Valentine’s, we (heart) these smart-growth cities

Venice.  New York.  Prague.  Paris.  These are some cities that are making "ten-most-romantic cities” lists.  I just looked at three such sites, and Venice, New York and Paris were consensus picks, on all of them.  Prague was on two of the lists, as were Vienna, Florence, and Melbourne (Melbourne?).

San Francisco, to my surprise, only made one of the three lists.  It makes mine.

With the possible exception of Melbourne, which I just don't know very well, what are some of the things these cities have in common?

• Strong, walkable, diverse downtowns
• Compact development patterns
• Strong, well-used public transportation
• Historic preservation
• Great public spaces for lively human interaction
• Parks and quiet places mixed in with urbanity
• Great traditional neighborhoods with a strong sense of community

Sound familiar?  These are the characteristics of smart growth, exactly the elements we want more of in America’s towns and cities.  People fall in love with them, and in them, in part because they are so conducive to nourishing the human spirit.  And, as I’ve been pointing out in this blog, they are good for the environment, too.

Here are some places that didn’t make a “most romantic” list:  Phoenix, Houston, Kansas City, Riverside (the last of those earning the dubious distinction of being America’s “most sprawling” metropolis, according to relevant research), just to name a few.  Now, I’m sure the citizens of those fine places could point to many of their attributes and be right about them.  I can make a case for romantic Washington, too, which can be a wonderful place to live if, like most natives, you don’t get too caught up in the political stuff.  But they still didn’t make anybody’s list.

So, today of all days, let’s celebrate the ones that did, and build more like them. 

And, by the way, if you want to try something really romantic, have dinner at this place:

To read the three “most romantic” lists, click here, here, and here.