This Big City reviews a new book by urban designer Julie Campoli that explores the elements crucial to creating walkable places. "Simply having shops, services and venues within walking distance is not enough."
In "Made for Walking: Density and Neighborhood Form", published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Campoli performs a close read of 12 walkable neighbourhoods in the US and Canada, to explain the "key factors that combine to create truly walkable streets and communities." Looking beyond the mere proximity of destinations such as schools, shops, and restaurants, she identifies several other factors that "improve or reduce the walkability of a street or neighbourhood:
- Connections – a fine-grained network of sidewalks and footpaths with plenty of intersections;
- Tissue – Great architecture with small human-sized buildings, not big boxes!
- Density – of housing and population;
- Streetscape – well designed streets with wide sidewalks and crossings, that are easy and safe to walk in;
- Green networks – plenty of street trees and green spaces."
"The streets and communities profiled by Campoli also happen to be really beautiful and fun places to live and work. The books extensive use of street photography helps to illustrate why people are so happy to walk in these streets, in ways that pure statistics and analysis can never do justice."
FULL STORY: Why Walkability isn’t Just About Proximity to Shops

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie