Walkable city : how downtown can save America, one step at a time / Jeff Speck

Includes bibliographical references and index.

A general theory of walkability -- Why walkability? Walking, the urban advantage ; Why Johnny can't walk ; The wrong color green -- -The ten steps of walkability. The useful walk. Step 1, Put cars in their place ; Step 2, Mix the uses ; Step 3, Get the parking right ; Step 4, Let transit work -- The safe walk. Step 5, Protect the pedestrian ; Step 6, Welcome bikes -- The comfortable walk. Step 7, Shape the spaces ; Step 8, Plant trees -- The interesting walk. Step 9, Make friendly and unique faces ; Step 10, Pick your winners

A Best Book of the Year according to Planetizen and the American Society of Landscape Architects Jeff Speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. And he has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability. Making downtown into a walkable, viable community is the essential fix for the typical American city; it is eminently achievable and its benefits are manifold. Walkable City―bursting with sharp observations and key insights into how urban change happens―lays out a practical, necessary, and inspiring vision for how to make American cities great again.