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1

It's about being a part of a community. I'm devoted to my neighborhood partly because I can walk everywhere and I see people I know every time I leave the house. Interaction with other people is one of the best ways to beat depression. Trust me, I've been working on it for well over 30 years.

Posted by Mark Mitchell | May 4, 2007 8:23 AM
2

This explains so much about the anti-density folks. Because misery loves company, right?

Posted by exelizabeth | May 4, 2007 10:28 AM
3

Hmmm. So that's why I'm such an up person.

Living in Fremont does a world of good, especially when you can walk to work, get groceries, and say hi to everyone.

Posted by Will in Seattle | May 4, 2007 10:47 AM
4

Um, want to bet the men in those neighborhoods aren't just gay as in happy, but also gay as in gay?

did they check that? that those "neighborhoods" might have an identity that creates community (even being cranky with each other requires paying attention)?

those walkable seattle neighborhoods are full of people who made an effort to be there because they wanted to be there. rather than a bunch of people who are where they are because that's where you are supposed to live when you are shitting out the litters of babies you've been told you want.

living a life in which you choose its major features would make anyone happier.

but i'm sure we'll learn why it is some man thing, or some seattle thing, or some other random piece of shit that makes no sense.

Posted by chuckles | May 4, 2007 10:47 AM
5

Nothing does more to cheer up an older guy on a limited income than losing his apartment to a condo conversion.

Chuckles, gays are a minority in every neighborhood in Seattle.

Posted by Dave | May 4, 2007 11:00 AM
6

Sample size. I want to see this study in other cities.

Researchers found that among 740 older adults living in the Seattle area, men who lived in more walkable neighborhoods tended to show fewer depression symptoms than men from less walker-friendly areas.

Notice how the study was done in only one particular city, with its particular culture and makeup, that the terms of 'walker-friendly' weren't defined, and, assuming the definition of 'walker-friendly' is standard, i.e. your usual dense, transit-laden mixed-used neighborhoods, keep in mind that most non-walker-friendly neighborhoods are crapholes like Rainier Beach and Aurora Village, so yeah, obviously those citizens are going to be unhappier.

Social 'science' is so shallow and lacks common sense. And yet it is taken so seriously.

Posted by Gomez | May 4, 2007 11:30 AM
7

Anyone who begins their comments with "Um," is so stupid, it's such a tired cliche.

Posted by choo choo | May 4, 2007 12:40 PM
8

@6 - "Notice how the study was done in only one particular city, with its particular culture and makeup"

Arguably, that's also a point in its favor - if they compared neighborhoods in Seattle to neighborhoods in Baton Rouge, there would be obvious issues with respect to cultural/geographic/etc. differences in those regions. There will, presumably, be at least a little more uniformity if you take two neighborhoods in the same geographical area.

And yes, the study isn't perfect, but it's often very hard to design a meaningful study to test psychological/sociological hypotheses that doesn't miss important potential dependencies somewhere.

Posted by tsm | May 4, 2007 1:19 PM
9

But that's the point: how can you make a blanket statement like 'density is good for alleviating depression in males' based on a study of one population subset in one city?

If any of us did the same thing, we'd be socially crucified for jumping to such a conclusion.

Posted by Gomez | May 4, 2007 1:39 PM
10

Men who live in richy-rich neighborhoods near amenities are happier than those who live in poor areas. Yup.

Posted by fascinating | May 4, 2007 6:32 PM
11

Dave -- gays are a minority! I had NO idea!! As a lesbian, it never occurred to me. (Absolutely nothing I said suggested they weren't.)

That said, Seattle has the second highest percentage of out queers in the country (damn those san fran queers!), so it's safe to say that our most population dense neighborhood (Cap Hill)which is ALSO happens to have the most stores/shops/sidewalks in the city (outside of downtown where no one lives) is probably the "more walkable" area to which they are referring. So even if we are a minority, there are still more of us HERE than THERE. Having fewer than 50% in ALL neighborhoods does not mean that one neighborhood doesn't have more queers than another neighborhood. For example, one neighborhood could have 1% and another 49% - that would constitute a notable difference in the number of fags.

"choo choo" given the name, i must bow to your brilliance, anyone who writes as they speak should be ignored! you are brilliant!! your wisdom supersedes everything. do enlighten us again soon!

Posted by chuckles | May 4, 2007 9:02 PM
12

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Posted by Bill | May 12, 2007 6:38 AM
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Posted by Bill | May 12, 2007 6:38 AM
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Posted by Bill | May 12, 2007 6:10 PM
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Posted by Bill | May 12, 2007 6:10 PM
16

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