Great cities are walkable. To be walkable, cities need to have places to walk to and sidewalks on which to walk. 

In order to have walkable neighborhoods, traffic ordinances need to be setup with pedestrian traffic in mind more than vehicle traffic. This is aided by having buildings close to the street, narrow streets that slow down car speed, and on street parking.

The most commonly used suburban model of development is to have housing in a subdivision that is usually separated from the commercial district. The roads are often not straight, certainly not a grid system, which is somehow supposed to slow down drivers who are in a hurry to get home. But no wonder they are in such a hurry. The suburban model is based on many subdivision roads that lead to a main road out of the subdivision and then to a larger road to get to the main road. The driver goes through such a maze of streets and far more miles of driving than on a traditional grid system.

The suburban model of development is not conducive to pedestrian life. Sidewalks are often not included in the planning. When they are, they are often curvy rather than straight, making them inefficient and making pedestrians walk further to get where they are going.  Housing is kept so far from stores that walking to the store is not only not practical, but can be a harrowing experience.

An old fashioned street grid is actually far more efficient for carrying auto traffic and at the same time eases walking distances. Mega blocks (large blocks that combine several city blocks) are less efficient and reduce the walkability of an area.