Why Alleys Are the Best

our alley

Shannon and I walked to the store yesterday—not to the store that’s a block away, but roughly a mile to Trader Joe’s because:

1. We’ve sipped of the Trader Joe’s kool-aid and can’t seem to go anywhere else
2. It’s a longer and more beautiful walk

Pacific Beach is a beautiful neighborhood. The houses here are small and very nicely presented. These days, it even smells good because of the spring blossoms.

I noticed throughout the walk that I like to look down the alleys that run east to west through the neighborhood. The setting sunlight kept catching my eye as it filled the narrow channels between the houses, usually silhouetting azaleas or palm trees in their way—an alley is an unexpected place to find such beauty.

But it got me thinking of the book Suburban Nation and the case it makes for alleys:

The alley is often criticized for its lack of neatness, but that is its essence: it’s where all the messy stuff goes. From garage doors to trash containers, transformers, electrical meters, and telephone equipment, the alley takes them out of public view, something that is all the more necessary these days with the advent of recycling bins and cable TV boxes. Also, by handling many of the neighborhood’s underground utilities, alleys allow streets to be narrower and to be planted with trees, which becomes difficult when water, sewer, gas, electricity, cable, and telephone are all placing demands on the front right-of-way. Alleys are also appreciated by the fire chief, since they allow firefighters another path to the building. Alleys may also provide direct access to backyard granny flats, giving them an address independent of the main house (like where Shan and I live!).

—pages 81 and 82

Perhaps our walk to the store is so beautiful because alleys allow our neighbors to keep their clutter off the streets and sidewalks.

I read Suburban Nation about five years ago and I still think about it all the time. If you have any remote interest in sustainable development and civil engineering, I highly recommend it. I also recommend living in a neighborhood with alleys.