“Has there ever been a smarter, more illuminating, jargon-free, and deeply useful guide to making more sociable, healthy, prosperous, charming neighborhoods, towns, and cities?”
— Kurt Andersen, author of Fantasyland and host of public radio’s Studio 360
“What a tour de force! The world needs this book so much right now. Walkable City Rules is sure to change the face of neighborhoods, towns, and cities around this country and beyond.”
— Sarah Susanka, architect and author of The Not So Big House series
Washington, DC (October 15, 2022)—Most U.S. cities are beginning to understand the value of walkability, in no small part due to the work of Jeff Speck and his bestselling book Walkable City. Yet few cities actually know how to become walkable. Created in response to reader demand for an actionable guide, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places (Publication Date: October 15, 2022) is the essential toolkit for creating healthier, more livable, and more sustainable places.
Walkable City Rules presents 101 practical steps for cities and citizens to usher in an era of renewed street life. Worded for arguments at the planning commission, illustrated for clarity, and packed not just with data but with specifications, Walkable City Rules is an indispensable resource from the foremost name in walkability.
Read in its entirety, it is a comprehensive toolkit for bringing the latest and most impactful city planning practices to bear in your community. But the book’s accessible format— organized into 19 chapters that cover everything from selling walkability, getting parking right, escaping automobilism, and more—makes it flexible enough for readers to flip to items that address their biggest challenges of the moment.
Rules range from “invest in attainable housing downtown” and “decouple and share parking,” to “bag pedestrian countdown clocks” and “don’t let terrorists design your city.” Other rules relate to tactical urbanism, congestion pricing, parking, transit, street design, cycling facilities, and more bolstered by real-life examples from cities ranging from large and small cities across the U.S.
Speck defines each rule as the achievable best practice in the face of current political and cultural realities in the US. This conscious decision to steer away from idealized or theoretical rules makes the book a perfect doer’s guide to making change in cities, and making it now.
Richard Florida, author of Rise of the Creative Class calls the book “a must read for urbanists, city-builders, and everyone who lives in cities.” Filled with proven strategies for success and written by the preeminent leader in the field, Walkable City Rules will be a force multiplier for place-makers and change-makers everywhere.
Jeff Speck is a city planner and urban designer who, through writing, lectures, and built work, advocates internationally for more walkable cities. He is author of the best-selling books Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time and co-author of Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream.
Founded in 1984, Island Press works to stimulate, shape, and communicate the information that is essential for solving environmental problems. Today, with more than 1,000 titles in print and some 30 new releases each year, it is the nation’s leading publisher of books on environmental issues. Island Press is driving change by moving ideas from the printed page to public discourse and practice. Island Press’s emphasis is, and will continue to be, on transforming objective information into understanding and action. For more information and further updates be sure to visit www.islandpress.org.
