Planning Utopia

Jeff Speck and Andrés Duany talk about why they wrote their new book The Smart Growth Manual, and why 'planners aren’t going to like it.'

1 minute read

December 21, 2009, 5:00 AM PST

By Tim Halbur


Jeff Speck says, "It's ironic now that I sit back and read it, how the community this book describes represents nothing but a utopia. Wouldn't it be great for these features to be present in every community? And for those of us who live in successful cities-one of the pictures has my bike in it-we live these benefits every day. What Andres is alluding to in avoiding the hair shirt is this: What's so fantastic about smart growth is that if our planners were to achieve it completely, all of us would have quality-of-life enhancements. Among the things being asked and not being asked of us in the climate/post-oil discussion, smart growth calls on us to change our lifestyle but to change it in a vastly more enjoyable world."

Friday, December 18, 2009 in Metropolis Magazine

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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