CNU NYC Board Member Hannah Kosoff has written a three-part series for Planetizen on the relationship between urban design and romance that explores how the way we build cities and mobility infrastructure affects modern dating. Read Part 1 here. A recent graduate of Columbia University with a Master’s in Urban Planning, Kosoff first looked at this topic in her Master’s Thesis, Planning for Love: Urban Form and its Impacts on Modern Dating. Parts 1 & 2 are here and here.

Data Plot Twists

Friends and family matter less for dating for non-drivers: Because walkable neighborhoods are linked to stronger social capital, you’d expect them to produce more introductions through friends and family. Instead, the opposite appears to be true. Research shows that 44% of young adults knew their partner as a friend first, compared to just 21% of seniors — a sign that meeting strangers is becoming less common. This suggests that walkable environments may reduce the need for friends and family to play matchmaker by creating more opportunities for spontaneous encounters

Drivers feel more confident dating: Although drivers felt they were approaching and being approached by potential partners less than they would like, they still reported greater confidence with dating. One possible explanation can be found in research by Kruger and Dunning (2009), which suggests that when individuals lack competence in a domain, their incompetence also robs them of the metacognitive ability to recognize that shortcoming. Applied here, this suggests that drivers report higher confidence due to having fewer social encounters and less practice navigating the nuances of dating. Conversely, non-drivers gain more frequent, hands-on experience in public spaces, leading to a more realistic — and humbled — assessment of their dating prospects.

(continue reading at Planetizen)