Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time Kindle Edition

I find myself rereading this 10 years later. the points are well laid out and the material accessible. unlike last time, I'm taking the time to make notes now!

This was a different book for me to read–one about urban planning. As the title implies, the author’s basic proposition is that large urban areas are most able to thrive if they are “walkable”. Walkability is much more than providing good spaces for pedestrians, it also stresses that people, and not autos, need to be the focus of our cities. (He does apply his theories to smaller cities, but my take is that most of his suggestions are really viable only in large metropolitan areas.) The book is full of information about planning, architecture, traffic engineers, and many other subjects. Like many non-fiction work, the author seems to have engaged in exhaustive research. Sometimes such exhaustive work makes for exhausting reading, and I did find that true at times. Indeed, this could be used almost as a supplemental text for educators or planners. Walkability, as I read the book, requires some level of mass transit to in essence “create” pedestrians in the urban core. Not that no one can drive, but the more people who don’t, the more people who are on the urban streets. “Walkability explains how, to be favored, a walk has to satisfy four main conditions: it must be useful, safe, comfortable and interesting.” These terms are themselves quite subjective, but the author defines useful to mean that “***most aspects of life are located close at hand and organized in a way that walking serves them well”. Safe means “***that the street has been designed to give pedestrians a fighting chance against being hit by automobiles” . Comfortable means that “***buildings and landscapes shape urban streets into ‘outdoor living rooms’”, and interesting means “***that sidewalks are lined by unique buildings with friendly faces and that signs of humanity abound.” An example he gives of a city that lacks almost all technical aspects of walkability–good sidewalks, safe traffic, etc- but is wonderfully walkable because of being so interesting, is Rome. Anyone who has been there can appreciate the example. His basic premise is that walkablilty attracts creative people to our cities, enhancing both the culture and the economy, including the increased property values in walkable cities, as well as healthy citizens who walk or ride bikes more often. (As an aside, the author speaks a lot of Portland, Oregon-50 miles north of me-, and its commitment to walkability.) Despite the ascribed benefits of walkability, the author posits that over the last 60 years, our country has made the automobile the master of the urban environment–and the environment in general. To create, or perhaps restore walkability, the car has to relegated to its position of servant rather than master. This can be done in many ways, including getting the parking issues right, and to the benefit of pedestrians. He also notes, as mentioned above, that walkable cities must have transit. Indeed, he points out that one need only trace the relative investment in highways versus transit in American and Canadian cities to see why the latter, who invested less in highways, have more walkable, and to the author, more vibrant cities. The author goes into detail abut a great many subjects, but I will only explore one–traffic engineers. He does have a distinct bias against traffic engineers, saying most are trained to solve traffic problems, and thus the first step, at least for them, in solving every urban problem is to conduct a traffic study–usually aimed at how to better move traffic. He feels such studies are flawed for three reasons. First the computer models are flawed because, like all computer models they are only as good as the input; second, traffic studies are typically performed by firms that do traffic engineering; and third, traffic studies almost never consider what the author calls “induced demand”. The last consideration is very interesting, for the author, supported by studies, postulates that induced demand reflects the fact that increasing the supply of roadways lowers the “time cost” of driving, causing more people to drive, obliterating any reductions in congestion. In essence, investments in road capacity expansion do not ease congestion, but just add more cars to the highway. This is at first a bit counterintuitive, but, with a second thought, has a logical ring. If induced demand is a viable theory, then it has a doubly negative effect. It not only fails to reduce congestion, it adds more cars into the mix, reducing the possibility for walkability. So is congestion good? Contrary as it sounds, the answer might be “yes”. Indeed, the author notes that 7 of the 10 cities ranked worst for traffic also had “***excellent public transportation and a vast collection of walkable neighborhoods”. (The 3 that did not were Dallas, Houston and Atlanta.) Also, if induced demand is correct, why bother with spending fortunes to expand highways if you will end up with congestion anyway. I fund the whole “induced demand” scenario quite thought provoking. This is not a “beach book”, or any type of “relaxing read”. It’s full of facts, theories and a bit of technical jargon. It is also quite informative and enlightening if one is interested specifically in urban planning, or more generally in reducing automobiles, increasing pleasant walkable urban environments, and making our cities more enjoyable for their residents.

I enjoyed reading this book and while I liked it much of what it suggests does not ring true in reality. Case in point I live in Towson, Maryland just a stone's throw from Baltimore City. Now Downtown Towson Town Center is easily the most walkable area in Maryland outside of Washington DC's suburbs. Go to any of the walkability websites and type in 300 Joppa Road, Towson Maryland, 21286. You get a walkability score of 92 "Walkers Paradise!" Ok so according to this silly book the property values in this walkable area are supposed to be fantastic because; it is so walkable.Now I am here to tell you I call this area of Towson home and this is easily a walkers paradise. There is NOTHING you could possible want that you can't walk less than a mile to get. No only do you have access to the highest quality food, pharmacy, shopping, entertainment, parks, festivals in summer, a 15 screen movie megaplex, a World of Beer and so much more. I mean if you can't find what you want in walking distance in downtown Towson it simply does not exist. Yet Towson is dirt cheap. You can find a one bedroom condo in Downtown Towson for just $78,000 in an ok building. You can find a nice 1 bedroom condo in Downtown Towson for just $150,000.Best of all from these nice cheap Towson condos the best of everything is just across the street or at best 2 blocks away. Heck in just a few years time we will be getting a Whole Foods to go with an already awesome mix of grocers and shopping. There is a 350 Million dollar Towson Row of mixed use Apartment Business Student Housing development being built. Lots of wild investment that is making downtown Towson a killer awesome walkable community by this books standards yet property values here are the best value in all of Maryland. The books so strongly suggests that making a community extremely walkable is so directly related to high rents and soaring property values and that is a bold faced audacious lie.Downtown Towson Maryland is likely the most walkable inner ring urbanized area. The crime is not super bad. We have lots of young college students who on average are very well behaved. Towson is the most fun place I have ever lived and it is getting better by the day as new venues are completed. Yet living in Towson remains dirt cheap compared to Montgomery County, Prince Georges County, Columbia Maryland and Clarksburg. Towson Condos mostly date back to the 1970's so you get huge floor plans compared to the tiny little condo boxes that sell for more down in Baltimore's walkable inner harbor. Also Baltimore county property taxes are much cheaper and parking is not hyper expensive because many Towson condos come with assigned, deeded or free parking. So while this book is a fun read it does not track that community walkability is always the road to higher costs of living. Downtown Towson is totally walkable and is still the cheapest quality community on the east coast bar none. This book is fun to read but its suggestion that walkability equals expensive is just plain wrong. I invite the author to visit and investigate Downtown Towson Town Center, Maryland he will see walkability done right and it is still a very cheap place to live. We even have poor people here among the better off how about that!NOW I MUST WRITE A CAVEAT TO THIS REVIEW... Towson Town Center, Maryland only just became a walkers paradise a few years ago so it might not have been discovered yet. Almost every apartment they build nearby sells out eventually. New Towson condos still sell slower. Experts say nice places need to build to critical mass before Real Estate in a walkable area becomes super expensive. I might just have moved to Towson Town Center very early in its price run up. Keep an eye on this posting. If this book is right an walkable communities are the coming rage. I'll share my experience with you as the years progress. The book might still be right. I moved to Towson because; I'm an old coot with cerebral palsy who does not drive so having everything I need less than a block away is a God send.

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.

Really interesting read, I have no backgroung in urbanism but I found the book really easy to understand and with great examplesI find myself noticing stuff arount the city that I hadn't notice beforeLoved it!

Very interesting book however it's more useful for practitioners rather than academics

A thoroughly well written book.

.... 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!