Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (Tenth Anniversary Edition)

The author, a city planner /designer has written an urban yet very readable guide to helping cities get away from their car addictions. Many of our local public forums return to keeping our city( New Westminster) a walkable city. Specks book is a great first step in seeing what can be and is being done in many places. He does an excellent job of stipping us of the car based blinders and prejudices that we all have in North America. I appreciated that he noted the efforts of Vancouver and Portland in these efforts.I just completed a journey to Greece and Western Turkey and it is blindingly how much more interesting an old, pre car built city is for walking than one that is car based. And how increased traffic can really bind up these cities. Too bad they look to the West for insight son how to handle this. Kind of like asking a heroin addict how to kick the habit.Speck also does a great job of showing/ linking our car based designs to increased carbon footprints and how some thoughts in design can ameliorate/prevent self induced issues. That was again brought to me in the Turkish city of Marmaris which had many covered streets/bazaars that were very pedestrian oriented. This was in a city that has an average daily temp of 30 degs. Shade is really important. Terminal 2 in Heathrow, UK is another good example , which uses mostly north facing windows to prevent increased heat build up in the open plan building. Its is a good job. If you fly Star Allianace you can experience this.I recommend this to anyone interested in living in a more interesting, energetic and vibrant city.

I live in Eugene, Oregon where planning is done by bumper stickers and "buzz word of the month."Our "Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan" has a single goal: "By the year 2031 Eugene will double the percentage of trips made on foot and by bicycle from 2011 levels."This pathetic statement isn't well-formed; it's a narrow "objective," not a "goal"; and what follows in the PBMP is, not surprisingly, focused on infrastructure to serve mostly a tiny "vehicular bicyclist" subpopulation.Meanwhile, the City planners have let years go by doing little to help update local planning policies and code to prevent the degradation and destabilization of the older, close-in, grid-patterned neighborhoods. This neglect goes on despite an active, smart and progressive community of neighborhood advocates who love their compact (by small city standards), "traditional" urban neighborhoods.The local planners still see "being against sprawl" as their core principle and their key task as holding in place an arbitrary "Urban Growth Boundary" line on a map. (A line that when it was originally created was a pretty seat-of-the-pants effort, not really based on much true planning).Speck, like many smart planners who've been paying attention for the past couple decades, has moved beyond attacking "sprawl," and focuses on "being _for_ walkability" and promoting methods that really work to accomplish meaningful goals. (I'm a supporter of _evidence-based_ growth management, just not "plan-by-the-numbers".)His work is packed with useful observations and citations. He isn't "anti-car," at all. He doesn't see all parking as "evil." And so on. And, he understands prioritization. Other 5-star reviews are accurate in their praise of the book's substance, as well as his writing style.If I had one thing I think would have made a really good book even better, it would be that his first Chapter be an expanded version of the section titled "It's the Neighborhoods, Stupid," in which Speck writes: "The transit discussion has of course included density since it began, but, until recently, it has been largely silent on neighborhood structure. This has been a huge mistake."The concept of "walkability" in this book is not only directly about walking, it's also about the kinds of neighborhoods that are great to live in. And thus, I hope Speck's observations and advice can help some of our local planners stop making that same mistake over and over again.

"Walkable City (Tenth Anniversary Edition)" is an enlightening read that offers a fresh perspective on urban planning and, surprisingly, transformed my views on parking. Jeff Speck masterfully illustrates how prioritizing walkability can revolutionize city landscapes, offering a blend of well-researched data and engaging narratives. The book is not just a theoretical discourse but a practical guide filled with achievable strategies for making cities more livable and sustainable. What struck me most was the insightful discussion on parking policies and how they shape our urban environments, often to the detriment of walkability and community vitality. This eye-opening section is a great read for anyone interested in urban development or sustainability. Whether you're an urban planner, a city dweller, or just someone curious about the future of our cities, this book is a compelling and thought-provoking journey. It is highly recommended for its ability to challenge conventional wisdom and inspire change.

Pros:1. THe author doesn't just focus on sidwalks and walkways but he also focuses on how other physical elements, like buses, railways, and even trees can compliment or enhance walkways. So while the book is called walkable city it also gives invaluable insight into other elements.2. Jeff Speck does a great job of blending, analogies, stories, statistic, studies, and facts into one book. Often times you see authors struggle to find that balance, or they have a book that is composed of 70% analogies and 30% facts, or like 90% opinion with like 10% facts. Or a boring textbook like book where it's 95% facts and 5% other stuff. But Jeff Speck does a good job of balancing all these elements out leading to a dynamic and fun book.3. The book is written to where even if you're not a city planner you can understand it. I came into the book having virtually no understand of planning whatsoever in regards to sidewalks and roads. However, I was still able to understand 90% of the content (there was one chapter where I was lost) and learn a lot from it.Cons:1. It would be that one chapter I mentioned above...it was near the end of the book and short though so it's no biggie...but still it was a hard read.

Tiene muchos datos duros.

.... and want to tear up my towns streets. Very informative book, every facet of the authors views are backed up factually with peer reviewed studies. It will absolutely make you look at transit and living in a city in a new light. I am currently using the knowledge gained here to approach my council about making some changes, and if that fails it will definitely add a layer of complexity to my Cities Skylines game!

Livro imprescindível para quem estuda o urbanismo contemporâneo, já que trata de um assunto muito recorrente hoje: cidades caminháveis e o incentivo ao caminhar pela cidade. Didático, mostra passo a passo como melhor a experiência dos pedestres nos ambientes urbanos. Dá exemplos de experiências próprias, estudos científicos e estudos de caso reais. As vezes é um pouco repetitivo em seus argumentos, mas não deixa de ser essencial como bibliografia para nossos planejadores, engenheiros e arquitetos. Brochura bem feita, fonte e impressão ótimas para leitura.

Great book. Many great ideas documented and a good inspirational read. This is really useful to talk through many examples of tackling todays problems with cities, especially when the city you live is very car centric. It’s great to know that there are ways to change that and make the city more liveable and enjoyable for it’s citizens. It’s not just about walkable, but also bikeable and includes public transport. A must read for anyone interested in improving their own perspective on the witty around them and willing to do something about it.

Fantastic book! Great insight into the world of urban planning and is great for any young planner in the field!