sidewalks

I'm now reading Jane Jacobs' "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", and I absolutely love it.  I am continually fascinated by cities and the culture of cities and what makes them great places to live.  This book, though written almost 40 years ago, is an in-depth look at cities and demonstrates what makes them great or the lack thereof.  I am especially thrilled by her focus on sidewalks, which takes up 3 chapters in "Part One: The Peculiar Nature of Cities".  I could not agree with her more on this focus.  I have always known, on some level, that sidewalks were important.  I know that I feel safest on busy sidewalks; likewise, I veer around dark, deserted sidewalks; and I seek out sidewalks that contain interesting shops, restaurants and coffee houses from where I can people watch. 

Since moving to Austin, the subject of sidewalks has never been more on the forefront of my mind.  In my immediate location, there are NO SIDEWALKS!  What?!  Yes.  In order to go on a pleasant evening walk, I have to walk on the street (a street which some use as a quick jaunt to South Congress and, therefore, travel 40 miles an hour) for about 15 or so minutes until I come to a sidewalk that will get me out of harms way.  In a city of 700,000 inhabitants or so, this seems absolutely ridiculous.  Though in some respects, it's hardly a "city" at all, but merely an extensive town upon town upon sprawling town separated by large green expanses.  To some, that sounds like a very idylic place to live; however, it nearly forces you to own a car and drive that car many miles a day. 

Back to sidewalks - the lack of sidewalks is seen in other Austin neighborhoods as well, most notably in parts of East Austin.  Even in my teeny tiny hometown, they managed to build sidewalks.  I can't help but wonder what was going on in the planners' heads when these neighborhoods were built.  Were there no people traveling by foot?  Were cars the only factor?  Were citizens not interested in sidewalks, or were they just not strong enough to inject their opinions into the building of the surrounding area?  I need to find a history of Austin city planning book.