Library
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
We will discuss a classic book about urbanism, the 1961 book that inspired the New Urbanism movement of the 1980s. It was a warning to city leaders in the 1960s that they were destroying their cities under the guise of rescuing them, and a detailed alternative approach that was based on streets, neighborhoods and the…
The 15-Minute City: A Solution to Saving Our Time and Our Planet
“The 15-Minute City” is a plea for urban leaders to rethink how neighborhoods work. The change it advocates: Bring nearly everything people need for daily life within a 15-minute walk, bike ride or bus ride, including housing, work, shopping, health care, education and entertainment. If we did this, the book argues, neighborhoods and cities would…
Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time
“Walkable City” explains why cities should create and grow walkable places, and how it can be done. Walkable downtowns and neighborhoods, the book argues, are the key to healthy, prosperous, affordable and appealing cities, and make other urbanist goals, like transit, mixed uses, bike lanes and density possible. Jeff Speck is a city planner who…
Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives
“Human Transit” is a book about how transit works, what allows buses, trains and streetcars to do these things effectively and efficiently, and why these things matter. Its premise is that elected officials, urbanists, riders and even some transit officials barely understand how transit works and, therefore, often make poor decisions about it. Jarrett Walker…
Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America
“Right of Way” is about the rise of pedestrian deaths in America, what causes these fatalities, and why some countries in Europe are seeing the opposite, a decline in auto-related injuries and deaths. It has suggestion for reducing these unnecessary deaths. The “big ideas” for Urban Atlanta:
Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution
“Streetfight” is the inside story of how New York changed many of its streets, adding bike lanes, launching bike sharing and bus rapid transit and expanding pedestrian infrastructure, including 60 pedestrian plazas. The “big ideas” for Urban Atlanta: