Crosscut recently adapted the original February 23 post, which contrasted “sustainable stairways” in three Italian venues, with a “greened-up” escalator in a suburban mall.

For those who need remedies for the tongue-in-cheek, magnificent stairways do exist in older Seattle neighborhoods, as documented in the Seattle Stairways Walks Blog, not to mention steep, green alleys nearby.

In the Madrona neighborhood, pictured below, the network of alleys and stairways interface with the spirit of the Olmsted Brothers’ early twentieth century Plan for Seattle Parks.