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What about most normal suburbs, which were built way after streetcars left the living memory, and still allow kids to bike to a store?
This conversation is revolving around some archetypes, but why don’t we focus on a specific example? For example, let’s focus on DC metro mentioned by /u/ResoluteRaven. How far do we have to go from the White House to find a place that’s more than 15 minute bicycle ride to closest supermarket?
Why would anyone take a 15 minute bike ride to the closest supermarket? Walkable means there's a shop within 500 meters. Maybe it doesn't have everything, but a convenience store like the one Dante worked in in Clerks should work.
Using Manhattan distance means each shop covers a 500x500m square. With small plots of 200sqm this is at most 1250 single family homes. More realistically, it's 1000, with the rest occupied by roads, other public spaces and commerce.
According to this report on Statista, a C-store needs about 5000 transactions per week. I don't think this is achievable at this density if everyone walks, but a five-minute bike ride should make each C-store reachable by 4000 homes. Even if each domicile shops there only twice a week, this should already be 8000 transactions.
The context of the discussion was kids living allegedly isolated lives in the suburbs. We don't expect kids to drive, but they very much can and should bike. Adults will, of course, just drive.
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The actual definition is 1/2 mile (0.8 km).
Oh, thanks. That's more like 2500 SFHs (if the lots are small enough) in vicinity.
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It definitely does not match my experience that most American suburbs allow kids to bike 15 minutes to a store. Like, it might be possible but it's not particularly safe, there's not usually infrastructure for it, etc.
DC is one of the least car-dependent places in the US. According to this, it has the lowest car ownership rate outside of the NYC metro area. The White House and immediately surrounding area is very bikeable, in my experience--it's right in the middle of the city! It seems like a weird choice to focus on. What about a city like Houston, LA, or Miami?
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The neighborhood around Walt Whitman High School in Maryland (which has been in the news lately for other culture war related reasons) is around 8 miles from the White House and looks to be about a 15 minute bike ride from the nearest grocery store, maybe longer if you lived to the north or west.
I'd say from looking at the intersections that need to be traversed and knowing the poor quality of the local drivers that the helicopter parents in such a wealthy neighborhood would never let their kids make that particular journey, but that of course has no direct bearing on your question.
If you're looking for the closest places to the White House without nearby grocery stores (as opposed to convenience stores), you want to go the other way down Pennsylvania Ave.
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