Walkable City

August 20, 2012
City planner and architectural designer Speck (co-author of Suburban Nation) offers an informative and engaging look at what's gone awry in American zoning codes and road planning, and what can be done to re-engage the public with downtowns large and small. Contrary to accepted wisdom, the author says that a city center's vitality is not dependent on climate, the width of sidewalks, efficient traffic movement, showboat architecture, or cheap parking. Instead, Speck arguesâand research backs him upâthat cities need narrower roads, less expedition of traffic via turn lanes or one-way streetsâand more mixed-use buildings, protected pedestrian areas, and trees. With covered walkways, people will hike around in any weather. Speck also recommends taking a close look at the effects of public transit and biking, and includes examples of places where one-size-fits-all transportation schemes have failed (see: Dallas). Although it's broadly accessible, Speck's comprehensive effort should appeal to architectural students, civil engineers, and local public servants. Readers will find themselves re-evaluating their home landscape and judging their own urban area through Speck's lens. What they see may shock them. Illus. Agent: Neeti Madan, Sterling Lord.

October 1, 2012
A city planner offers a blueprint for making midsize American cities more pedestrian-friendly. What makes a city work? According to Washington, D.C.-based city planner Speck (co-author: Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream, 2000, etc.), there's one answer: Cities work best when people can safely and easily walk to most (if not all) aspects of their daily lives. However, the author is not interested in focusing on larger cities like New York or San Francisco, but rather, what "our other, more normal cities can learn." To that end, he lays out a comprehensive program for smaller cities (think Providence or Grand Rapids), which he calls "The Ten Steps of Walkability." Speck examines the specifics of each proposed step, with ideas such as fewer cars, more investment in public transit, protecting pedestrians and more. While the author claims that "this book is less a design treatise than an essential call to arms," it is unfortunately a call to arms weighed down with stodgy prose, excessive statistics and clunky writing. Additionally, while Speck admits to "an antisuburban snobbery," he gives short shrift to the accomplishments of larger cities, instead examining how their successes could be duplicated on smaller scales. Speck appears to have an especially contentious relationship with New York. For example, one chapter offers a section titled "Manhattan as Mecca," in which he praises the city's traffic-safety record, comprehensive public transit and more. But later in the book, he writes, "one can walk entire neighborhoods without a single tree sighting," a claim many New Yorkers would dispute. Some intriguing ideas amid a dry narrative.

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November 1, 2012
Speck, coauthor of Suburban Nation (2000), believes America has a problemactually, lots of problemsthat can be solved by improving walkability in our cities. Public health, sustainability, and even the lagging economy, he argues, can be boosted by making cities more friendly for pedestrians. Drawing on his background as a city planner and architectural designer, Speck lays out a 10-step plan for changing the way we build and think about our public spaces. The steps are wide-ranging, from planting more trees and narrowing roads to investing in well-planned public transit systems and designing visually interesting buildings. Speck is at times blunt and doesn't mince words about the roadblocks to walkability: Traffic studies are bullshit. But he makes a clear and convincing case for the benefits of revitalizing our public spaces in favor of foot traffic. Walkable City, in addition to being full of information about city planning and progress, is a remarkably readable book and moves along quickly because of Speck's spirited writing and no-holds-barred attitude. An engaging book with a powerful message and achievable goals.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)