Island paradise

Rokko Island is a better example of transit-oriented development than any I have seen in the U.S. It works for transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists, while still being convenient for automobile users (I have driven enough rental cars here to be able to confirm this). It passes the new urbanists' milk test: An eight-year-old can easily walk to the neighborhood store to buy a quart of milk. The best features, in my view, are the streets and the public spaces. The streets have landscaped medians that make crossing easy, even in midblock. And the shade trees in the medians add to the sense of enclosure. The wide sidewalks are filled with children (on bikes or unicycles, which are popular with young girls), the elderly pulling grocery carts, groups of teenagers, and business people going to and from work.