Along the east coast there are multiple communities on islands accessible only by ferry that are foot traffic only. You can tell they're real places because they have their own U.S. Post Offices (not just mailboxes).
For example: https://villageofoceanbeach.org/about
Despite being farther from Cambridge (a different city than Boston, so they have a different mayor), I prioritize biking to places there to meet friends or go out to dinner. It is just a much more pleasant experience than nearly anywhere in Boston proper.
[1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/us/boston-mayor-josh-kraf...
Whatever you think about all those issues, and how stupid you think the hoi polloi are, there has been a massive strategic miscalculation about which issues to focus on, and how to address them over the last number of years.
These same people are ostensibly liberal, "we're all for people riding bikes, or getting a stupid little condo, whatever you kids like to do for fun" they say, but in practice will do anything in their power to prevent any impediment to their car commute, even if their fear is at-best specious.
Same thing in Toronto. In Vancouver Canada we're a fair bit better about the bike lane thing, though it's still fragile, but in the affordable housing issue they actually just subsidized the huge home owners that already owned land, so a majority of new units that have come on the market are in their basements or backyard and can't be owned, furthering a class divide. They marginally upzoned, but now a duplex or small townhouse is over a million at the low end. There isn't an incentive to make housing less expensive except the vague sense that the municipal/regional economy will eventually collapse on someone else's watch.
I assume the real reason relates to "abuse of the commons" and the American problem of "why we can't have nice things" outside of "gated" communities.
The real reasons are 1) architects more interested in getting applause from architects for cutting-edge design instead of utilizing tried-and-true principles for humane spaces, and 2) these things are planned, designed, and built by people who will never live or work in them.
Architects design for coffee table books and developers+planners design for spreadsheets.
It only had a population of 583 permanent residents at last count, though. It's mostly a tourist destination.
The island itself is somewhat bicycle friendly if you can manage hills, but other than the touristy downtown, all the housing is spread out and definitely not what anyone would think of as walkable, especially in winter months.
Weather is only a matter of clothes. The cold might be disturbing at first but you get used to it, and a good coat keeps you safe. Plus: walking or biking keeps you warm.
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d2a6bf9a14008...
> Except for emergency and essential services, vehicles are generally not permitted.
Funny how you apparently read the entire article.. yet you missed this from the first paragraph.
> And in the summer, there are no cars!
>> generally not permitted.
These are the kind of weasel words that mean yes. I guess you're the kind of guy that thinks boneless wings contains bones [1].
[1]: https://www.courtnewsohio.gov/cases/2024/SCO/0725/230293.asp
(not from the US obv.)