Introducing our New England, USA Correspondent Masha Shaposhnikova!
Here at Pedestrian Space we recently launched a Global Walkability Correspondents Network, as a way to build solidarity among walkability advocates around the world and continue to create media on sustainable mobility and urbanism.
We are grateful to welcome Providence-based Masha on board as our New England Correspondent. Read on for some of her thoughts as we launch this network.
When I moved from Moscow, Russia (very walkable) to Oxford, CT (very car-dependent), I was confused about why I couldn’t walk anywhere and why everything was so spread out. At some point I started to think that maybe that’s how “advanced” countries are and that there was something wrong with me, not the environment I was in. When I moved to Boston for college, it felt like a breath of fresh air. I still couldn’t connect the dots though...
Masha Shaposhnikova
WHO
My name’s Masha and I’m a product designer living in Providence, RI. I went to Brandeis University in Waltham (just outside of Boston) where I studied computer science. I love learning about urban design (obviously!), psychology, and health.
WHERE
I currently live in Providence, RI. I also spent 7 years in Boston, MA and 5 years in Oxford, CT. Originally, I’m from Moscow, Russia. I think Providence is a great walking city! The only problem is that many neighborhoods seem disconnected due to highways cutting through them.
WHY WALKABILITY?
When I moved from Moscow, Russia (very walkable) to Oxford, CT (very car-dependent), I was confused why I couldn’t walk anywhere and why everything was so spread out. At some point, I started to think that maybe that’s how “advanced” countries are and that there was something wrong with me, not the environment I was in. When I moved to Boston for college, it felt like a breath of fresh air. I still couldn’t connect the dots though. Only several years later, when I took a resilient cities course at Brandeis, I started consciously thinking about walkability and analyzing my prior experiences.
Masha is a product designer living in Providence, RI. She loves learning about urban design and runs a small Instagram blog dedicated to it. She also created eoc.media – an online library of urban design resources.
Learn more about the Global Walkability Correspondents Network here