When i was the city designer for the city of davenport, iowa, i helped prepare informational packets for. So while the book is called walkable city it also gives invaluable insight into other elements. Oct 09, 2018 an excerpt from jeff specks walkable city rules, a stepbystep guide to fixing americas cities and towns. Jeff speck is a city planner and the author of walkable city. The rise of sprawl and the decline of the american dream, 2000, etc. Sep 18, 2012 jeff speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. Sarah susanka, architect and author of the not so big house series and the not so big life with walkable city, jeff speck demonstrated that he is the most relevant writer and thinker of his generation on the subject of city.
As the former director of design at the national endowment for the arts, he oversaw the mayors institute on city design, where he worked with dozens of american mayors on their most pressing city planning challenges. Author and city planner jeff speck stands at broadway and wyoming streets wednesday in uptown butte. Paul goldberger, pulitzer prizewinning architecture critic and author of why architecture matters with walkable city, jeff speck demonstrates why he is. Nov 16, 2012 walkable city is an eloquent ode to the livable city and to the values behind it. How downtown can save america, one step at a time by jeff speck. It might just be the difference between seinfeld and the partridge family, friends and the brady bunch. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read walkable city. The rise of sprawl and the decline of the american dream, and more on. Jeff speck, a city planner and former director of design at the national endowment for the arts, talks about his book, walkable city. Join us for a public presentation with jeff speck on the economic promise of walkable and bikable communities, on the ways we can reshape our public spaces so they improve our quality of life, and on the benefits of designing streets that belong to everyone. Jeff speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. Mayors institute on city design, which puts city leaders together with designers for intensive planning sessions.
Kaid benfield, the atlantic cities jeff speck, aicp, is one of the few practitioners and writers in the field who can make a 312page book on a basic planning concept seem too short. The christian science monitora best book of the year a. I wish i had walkable city rules fifteen years ago, to distribute to mayors, city administrators, dot engineers, and developers. Timely and important, a delightful, insightful, irreverent work. A city planner by trade, speck is aware of what works and doesnt work in creating and maintaining thriving metropolises. Speck visited the mining city to study the city and to lead a buttesilver bowsponsored.
Creating a walkable city means restricting urban driving. June 14, 20 in his 2012 book, walkable city, jeff speck, coauthor of suburban nation and the smart growth manual, branches out on his own to nail down a comprehensive guide to walkability. Jeff speck does a great job of blending, analogies, stories, statistic, studies, and facts into one book. It was interesting to read about city planning and the economic, environmental, and design considerations that come together to create a walkable city. Prior to joining the endowment, speck spent ten years as. In his new book walkable city rules, he puts meat on the bones of this prescription, explaining how cities can achieve this goal. He is an advocate for new urbanism and more walkable cities and has given ted talks on the subjects. His more recent book, walkable city, was the best selling city planning title of 202016. Read walkable city how downtown can save america, one step at a time by jeff speck available from rakuten kobo. Speck is the coauthor of suburban nation, which the wall street journal calls the urbanists bible. Walkable city rules is a doers guide to making change in cities, and making it now. With walkable city, jeff speck demonstrates why he is among the most relevant and engaging writers on urban design today.
Walkable city ebook by jeff speck 9781429945967 rakuten kobo. How downtown can save america, one step at a time kindle. Jeff speck is a city planner and urban designer who, through writing, lectures, and built work, advocates internationally for smart growth and sustainable design. Cities work best when people can safely and easily walk to most if not all aspects of their daily. How downtown can save america, one step at a time, and suburban nation. Jeff specks followup to his bestselling walkable city is the resource that cities and citizens need to usher in an era of renewed street life. There is no single document poised to have a greater positive impact on our communities and on the practice of urban planning than this comprehensive and engaging text. With walkable city, jeff speck demonstrated that he is the most relevant writer and thinker of his generation on the subject of city planning. Why you should listen jeff speck is a city planner and architectural designer who, through writing, lectures, and built work, advocates internationally for more walkable cities. Walkable city rules is sure to change the face of neighborhoods, towns, and cities around this country and beyond. In his book, walkable city, speck says urban walks. How downtown can save america, one step at a time ebook written by jeff speck. How downtown can save america, one step at a time speck, jeff on. With his new book, walkable city rules, he establishes himself as the most helpful.
But jeff speck does a good job of balancing all these elements out leading to a dynamic and fun book. How downtown can save america, one step at a time, in which he. Speck addresses usefulness by focusing on zoning and transit. To address this, speck created a ten step list cited in its entirety below with each chapter describing the facets. Jeff speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities. How downtown can save america, one step at a time falls into the category of nobrainer. Making downtown into a walkable, viable community is the essential fix for the typical american city. Jeff speck s followup to his bestselling walkable city is the resource that cities and citizens need to usher in an era of renewed street life.
If you grew up, as i did, in a pedestrian city, much of jeff specks walkable city. The book is written to where even if youre not a city. An excerpt from jeff specks walkable city rules, a stepbystep guide to fixing americas cities and towns. The goals are often clear, but the path is seldom easy. Nov, 2012 jeff speck, coauthor of the landmark bestseller suburban nation, is a city planner who advocates for smart growth and sustainable design. A howto manual for fixing badly planned cities citylab. But in the typical american city, the car is still king, and downtown is a place thats easy to drive to but often not. 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%. Instead, speck aims to show how we can deliberately plan urban spaces to be useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting. Jeff speck books list of books by author jeff speck. How downtown can save america, one step at a time, is worth a read for its acerbic wit, alone. Leedap, honorary asla, is a city planner and the author of several books, most. Feb 07, 20 the obvious solution is to make the city more walkable but many efforts to design cities as a place to walk have failed as well, often due to their halfhearted nature or lack of understanding of what makes a city walkable. He has authored or coauthored several books on urban planning, including his 2012 book, walkable city.
Cities work best when people can safely and easily walk to most if not all aspects of their. See all books authored by jeff speck, including walkable city. The worst idea americans have ever had is urban sprawl, and it is being emulated in other countries. It is an intellectual revolution, in the words of author jeff speck, thats made millennials favor walkable urban living over the automotivebound suburbia of their parents.
Freedom from cars, freedom from sprawl, freedom to walk your city. Cities are the future of the human race, and jeff speck knows how to make them work. The 101 rules are practical yet engagingworded for arguments at the planning commission, illustrated for clarity. Jeff speck, author of walkable city city planner jeff speck says walking will remain a choice in most american cities for years to come, but that its important to incentivize. Every two months, somewhere in the united states, we would gather eight mayors and eight designers, lock ourselves in a room for two days, and try to solve each mayors most pressing cityplanning challenge. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. As director of design at the national endowment for the arts, he oversaw the mayors institute on city design and created the governors institute on community design.
City planner jeff speck shares his general theory of walkability four planning principles to transform sprawling cities of sixlane highways and 600foot blocks into safe, walkable oases full of bike lanes and treelined streets. Dec 02, 20 speck deserves the widest possible readership. Dec 07, 2012 jeff specks walkable city a recipe for vibrant street life. Jeff specks walkable city a recipe for vibrant street. Walkable city gives great insight into the differences between inviting cities and hard to maneuver cities. In softcover nonfiction, jeff speck paces the city streets and. David owen, staff writer at the new yorker nearly every us city would like to be more walkablefor reasons of health, wealth, and the environmentyet few are taking the proper steps to get there. Jeff specks two ted talks have been viewed more than 4 million times. Walkable city in the west downtown billings alliance. Local motion, in partnership with the chittenden county regional planning commission, aarp, uvm, and the burlington business association, will host an event series on october 1617th featuring jeff speck, an internationally recognized city planner, and author. Unlike most planning books, which set their sights for twenty, sometimes fifty, years into the future, specks book is for now. His 2012 book, walkable citywhich the christian science. Walkablecity rules is a doers guide to making change in cities, and making it now.
This is a great read for anyone interested in design but also in local development. Jeff speck s two ted talks have been viewed more than 4 million times. Jeff speck, aicp, cnua, leedap, honorary asla, is a city planner and the author of several books, most recently walkable city rules. Jeff speck is a city planner and urban designer who, through writing, lectures, and built work, advocates internationally for more walkable cities. Jeff specks walkable city a recipe for vibrant street life. In the 2012 book walkable city, jeff speck writes that cites can be walkable only if walking is useful, safe, comfortable and interesting. Walkable city is an eloquent ode to the livable city and to the values behind it. Its sequel, walkable city rules, is described by kurt andersen as a must read for urbanists, city builders, and everyone who lives in.
The very idea of a modern metropolis evokes visions of bustling sidewalks, vital mass transit, and a vibrant, pedestrianfriendly urban core. Paul goldberger, pulitzer prizewinning architecture critic and author of why architecture matters with walkable city, jeff speck demonstrates why he is among the most relevant and engaging writers on urban design today. In jeff specks excellent new book, walkable city, he suggests that there are ten keys to creating walkability. A city planner offers a blueprint for making midsize american cities more pedestrianfriendly. He blames many of his fellow planners for the big mistakes of repeatedly designing cities for the swift movement.
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