Good Human Habitat

The Focus: What is good human habit and where do we find it? Why don’t we have more of it? What must we do to create it? The Mission: Good Human Habitat advocates for municipal governments to pursue four objectives that are necessary to halt urban sprawl’s expansion and to consistently build at the human scale. These objectives are derived from best practices in municipalities (suburban and urban) where walkability can be validated analytically. Consider the following two points. Surveys show that most adults would prefer living in vibrant, walkable, human-scale communities if they were available. Yet urban sprawl prevails. Over 60% of CO2 emissions tie back to two key things that municipal governments do, namely deciding what and where things get built. And what most municipalities build is urban sprawl, in both its vertical (high-rise) and horizontal (suburban) variants. There’s a connection here. Many municipal governments across the United States and Canada have ostensibly made commitments to “walkability” and “climate action.” Yet most continue to mandate development patterns that diminish the pedestrian experience and maximize emissions. Often, the gap between rhetoric and reality is wide. Good Human Habitat (GHH) is a non-profit initiative that promotes independent, third-party assessments of local governments, helping evaluate whether their stated commitments are being realized in practice. Local journalism and community input are key to producing a credible, effective assessment. Importantly, these assessments bring tangible benefits to those living in established suburban areas. Third-party assessments clarify where a municipality stands regarding the four objectives, namely critical mass, strategic vision, clarity of entitlement, and design competence. Absent these objectives, urban sprawl will prevail.