You know how it is. You’re walking around in some urban city; maybe you’re visiting, maybe you’re just exploring a new neighborhood in your hometown. Suddenly your gait gets a little lower, the pace moves just a little slower. It’s not until you look down that you notice: cobblestone walkways. Cobblestone streets and walkways can be used in an urban area to take a bit of the edge off. But why and where and how does a cobblestone infusion translate into a whole new neighbored for you?
WHY – As a point of fact, a smooth paved sidewalk or street is going to make people walk slower simply because cobblestone walkways require greater care in walking. Why would you implement cobblestone in an urban area? Because you no longer want to be the buzzed-by neighborhood. You don’t’ want people looking at their tablets, talking on their smartphones, or hurrying on their way. A slower walk means that the passers-thru will take extra time admiring your shops, standing in awe of the architecture, making that mental note which say ‘come back to this place’. As a community organizer, urban planner, local leader, or shop owner that’s the least you could ask. You have put a lot of effort into making your shop, your building, your neighborhood, your city the best that it could possibly be. Why wouldn’t you want people to slow down and say ‘hey, this is new!’?
WHERE: You may say, “Cobblestone walkways are great; but I don’t think they’re right for my city.” Cobblestone walkways are used in urban areas all over the world. The introduction of cobblestone walkways is often used in conjunction with a re-birth for a neighborhood, new addition to an area, or a revitalization of what was before a very run-down district. Only you can know if your neighborhood or your city is ready for cobblestone walkways. However the one true thing about cobblestone being put into use before a neighborhood is ready is that they get ready pretty quick. It works just the opposite way too. If people are taking their time and strolling through your block and they don’t like what they see; pressures will make sure that that’s got to change pretty quick.
HOW: Cobblestone walkways make a rundown neighborhood, respectable; they make an already nice neighborhood, timeless. When you can walk out into the streets on cobblestone layouts and say proudly, “this is where I live,” people will see that pride, they will feel it, and they will share it.
Of course before you decide if cobblestone walkways are right for your block, you may have some further questions. Don’t hesitate to ask. Reach out to a local contractor, find out what an online vendor has to say, make sure you understand all the trappings of the cobblestone experience before you jump in. Shedding all of your inhibitions and getting past that initial stumbling block can be the most important step to realizing your revitalization ends.
