There are a bunch of neighbourhoods in Vancouver that eke vibrant and distinct community. Commercial Drive, Chinatown, Main Street, Kits along the Broadway Corridor, Fraser’s Punjabi Market, the West End’s Davie Village, and Hastings and Nanaimo to name just a few. What makes these areas so interesting and vibrant is the dozens of small retail shops, restaurants, groceries, cafes, bookstores, and bars that line the streets.

In these neighbourhoods people walk to pick up their groceries and the sidewalks tend to be jammed with all sorts of different folks.

I always knew I liked these places because they created an intimate community of urban dwellers. But recently, I discovered another thing that’s neat about these neighborhood shopping areas. They’re also doing their part to fight climate change.

Here’s the reasoning:

According to a number of recent studies, in the late 1970s, the average household drove 1,200 miles a year for shopping. That figure has skyrocketed to about 3,600 miles today. When you need to drive to the big mega-mart or Safeway dozens of kilometers away to buy some groceries, milk, laundry detergent or bread few times a week, it tends to add up over a lifetime. Add to this the general trend of people seeking less and less dense neighbourhoods and your commuting time to the local grocery chain grows exponentially.

But  a of that is starting to change as many young couples begin to embrace a more dense urban lifestyle (sans the backyard and sandbox). When people live closer together, that means more small businesses and stores can be supported. In addition, according to many academics who study travel behavior,  people who live near small stores walk more for errands and, when they do drive, their trips are shorter. More surprising is that small retailers influence how likely people are to take public transit to work. All that walking and cycling can add up to significant emission reductions in the long term.

Intrigued by all this? Check out a more detailed analysis in this great article at Grist. And in the meantime, the next time you decide to cycle over to your local store instead of hitting up the big uber-grocery-mart, give yourself a pat on the back. Your building community and helping the environment, all at the same time.

Did you enjoy this post?

May we also suggest:

Day of Blog Action 2009: Climate Change This blog can also be read at thebigwild.org under Making Contact – Finding Farley. Gotta love the link love – … Continue reading →...

Community Building in the West End The following is a column by Vancouver writer Jackie Wong – exclusive to the Gumboot! Enjoy. Vancouver’s growing up. Like … Continue reading →...