College is quite often referred to as the best time of an individual’s life. For the first time ever, young adults can live by themselves, live life on their own schedule, and join the community formed in a college campus. Many students, despite the high costs, begin to dread their graduation day, and fear what lies beyond their cap and gown. What makes college campuses such an ideal place for young adults to thrive, and how can this be mimicked in the real world?
Walkable cities are not as popular as a model as they were before the widespread use of cars, but their convenience and community still exist somewhere you may never expect. As new college students move onto campuses, they are faced with a way of living that is likely to be different from anything they have ever experienced. Suddenly, their friends, classes, dining hall and recreational spaces are all within walking distance. Living in such proximity to these places is not normal for the average American, as our society normalizes personal cars for any kind of transportation. College campuses follow a “city” model, including residential spaces, “restaurants”, and many types of recreational buildings often present in cities. Most campuses even have their own “police”, or security team that act like campus police.
While cities are designed for cars, college campuses are designed for humans. In his article “College Campuses Are Designed at Human-Scale. Our Cities Can Be Too”, journalist Colin Slowey describes that college campuses are often referred to as the “peak of community” by many graduates (Slowey, 2021). Colleges are meant to create opportunities for face-to-face communication that are not present in modern American cities, which are more focused on commercial exchange. Slowey writes that, “[College campuses] were built to be integrated communities, constructed to be navigable by foot, and most importantly made to serve human beings, with all their diverse social and physiological needs.” By reworking the American model for the typical urban city, these needs would be able to be better met for residents.
The best models of the walkable city, along with its benefits, are revealed in European cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, Venice, and many more cities in various countries across Europe. These cities are not only mainly walkable, with residents being able to step out of their dwellings and immediately being in the city but include a variety of public transportation for longer journeys. People are forced to be together, providing social connection that those in suburban American areas do not receive.
