In a recent "TED Talk", Jeff Speck makes the case for creating a more walkable America based not on design arguments, but rather on the potential to create a more economically resilient, healthier, and environmentally sustainable country.
"In the ineffable way of all TED talkers, urban planner Jeff Speck, author of 'The Walkable City,' has made a concise, urgent, and oddly charming argument for walkability," writes Tanya Snyder. In the video below, Speck describes the economic, epidemiological, and environmental reasons why the United States must reverse the "worst idea" the country has ever had. Instead of exporting suburban sprawl and auto-oriented design, he argues that that the U.S. can set a precedent worth emulating by designing for walkability.
Read the full story: Jeff Speck: America Has So Many Problems. Walkability Solves Most of Them.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority