TEDxMidAtlantic
Jeff Speck: 4 ways to make a city more walkable
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Freedom from cars, freedom from sprawl, freedom to walk your city! City planner Jeff Speck shares his "general theory of walkability" -- four planning principles to transform sprawling cities of six-lane highways and 600-foot blocks into safe, walkable oases full of bike lanes and tree-lined streets.
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
So I'm here to talk to you
about the walkable city.
about the walkable city.
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What is the walkable city?
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Well, for want of a better definition,
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it's a city in which the car
is an optional instrument of freedom,
is an optional instrument of freedom,
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rather than a prosthetic device.
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And I'd like to talk about
why we need the walkable city,
why we need the walkable city,
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and I'd like to talk about
how to do the walkable city.
how to do the walkable city.
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Most of the talks I give these days
are about why we need it,
are about why we need it,
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but you guys are smart.
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And also I gave that talk
exactly a month ago,
exactly a month ago,
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and you can see it at TED.com.
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So today I want to talk
about how to do it.
about how to do it.
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In a lot of time thinking about this,
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I've come up with what I call
the general theory of walkability.
the general theory of walkability.
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A bit of a pretentious term,
it's a little tongue-in-cheek,
it's a little tongue-in-cheek,
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but it's something
I've thought about for a long time,
I've thought about for a long time,
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and I'd like to share
what I think I've figured out.
what I think I've figured out.
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In the American city,
the typical American city --
the typical American city --
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the typical American city
is not Washington, DC,
is not Washington, DC,
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or New York, or San Francisco;
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it's Grand Rapids or Cedar
Rapids or Memphis --
Rapids or Memphis --
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in the typical American city
in which most people own cars
in which most people own cars
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and the temptation
is to drive them all the time,
is to drive them all the time,
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if you're going to get them to walk,
then you have to offer a walk
then you have to offer a walk
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that's as good as a drive or better.
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What does that mean?
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It means you need to offer
four things simultaneously:
four things simultaneously:
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there needs to be a proper reason to walk,
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the walk has to be safe and feel safe,
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the walk has to be comfortable
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and the walk has to be interesting.
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You need to do all four
of these things simultaneously,
of these things simultaneously,
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and that's the structure of my talk today,
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to take you through each of those.
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The reason to walk
is a story I learned from my mentors,
is a story I learned from my mentors,
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Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk,
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the founders of the New Urbanism movement.
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And I should say half the slides
and half of my talk today
and half of my talk today
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I learned from them.
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It's the story of planning,
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the story of the formation
of the planning profession.
of the planning profession.
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When in the 19th century
people were choking
people were choking
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from the soot of the dark, satanic mills,
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the planners said, hey, let's move
the housing away from the mills.
the housing away from the mills.
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And lifespans increased
immediately, dramatically,
immediately, dramatically,
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and we like to say
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the planners have been trying to repeat
that experience ever since.
that experience ever since.
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So there's the onset
of what we call Euclidian zoning,
of what we call Euclidian zoning,
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the separation of the landscape
into large areas of single use.
into large areas of single use.
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And typically when I arrive
in a city to do a plan,
in a city to do a plan,
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a plan like this already awaits me
on the property that I'm looking at.
on the property that I'm looking at.
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And all a plan like this guarantees
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is that you will not have a walkable city,
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because nothing is located
near anything else.
near anything else.
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The alternative, of course,
is our most walkable city,
is our most walkable city,
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and I like to say, you know,
this is a Rothko,
this is a Rothko,
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and this is a Seurat.
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It's just a different way --
he was the pointilist --
he was the pointilist --
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it's a different way of making places.
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And even this map of Manhattan
is a bit misleading
is a bit misleading
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because the red color
is uses that are mixed vertically.
is uses that are mixed vertically.
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So this is the big story
of the New Urbanists --
of the New Urbanists --
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to acknowledge that there
are only two ways
are only two ways
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that have been tested by the thousands
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to build communities,
in the world and throughout history.
in the world and throughout history.
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One is the traditional neighborhood.
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You see here several neighborhoods
of Newburyport, Massachusetts,
of Newburyport, Massachusetts,
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which is defined as being compact
and being diverse --
and being diverse --
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places to live, work, shop,
recreate, get educated --
recreate, get educated --
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all within walking distance.
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And it's defined as being walkable.
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There are lots of small streets.
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Each one is comfortable to walk on.
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And we contrast that to the other way,
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an invention that happened
after the Second World War,
after the Second World War,
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suburban sprawl,
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clearly not compact, clearly not diverse,
and it's not walkable,
and it's not walkable,
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because so few of the streets connect,
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that those streets that do connect
become overburdened,
become overburdened,
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and you wouldn't let your kid out on them.
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And I want to thank Alex Maclean,
the aerial photographer,
the aerial photographer,
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for many of these beautiful pictures
that I'm showing you today.
that I'm showing you today.
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So it's fun to break sprawl down
into its constituent parts.
into its constituent parts.
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It's so easy to understand,
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the places where you only live,
the places where you only work,
the places where you only work,
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the places where you only shop,
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and our super-sized public institutions.
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Schools get bigger and bigger,
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and therefore, further
and further from each other.
and further from each other.
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And the ratio of the size
of the parking lot
of the parking lot
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to the size of the school
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tells you all you need to know,
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which is that no child
has ever walked to this school,
has ever walked to this school,
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no child will ever walk to this school.
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The seniors and juniors are driving
the freshmen and the sophomores,
the freshmen and the sophomores,
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and of course we have
the crash statistics to prove it.
the crash statistics to prove it.
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And then the super-sizing
of our other civic institutions
of our other civic institutions
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like playing fields --
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it's wonderful that Westin
in the Ft. Lauderdale area
in the Ft. Lauderdale area
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has eight soccer fields
and eight baseball diamonds
and eight baseball diamonds
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and 20 tennis courts,
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but look at the road
that takes you to that location,
that takes you to that location,
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and would you let your child bike on it?
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And this is why we have
the soccer mom now.
the soccer mom now.
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When I was young, I had one soccer field,
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one baseball diamond and one tennis court,
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but I could walk to it,
because it was in my neighborhood.
because it was in my neighborhood.
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Then the final part of sprawl
that everyone forgot to count:
that everyone forgot to count:
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if you're going to separate everything
from everything else
from everything else
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and reconnect it
only with automotive infrastructure,
only with automotive infrastructure,
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then this is what your landscape
begins to look like.
begins to look like.
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The main message here is:
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if you want to have a walkable city,
you can't start with the sprawl model.
you can't start with the sprawl model.
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you need the bones of an urban model.
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This is the outcome
of that form of design,
of that form of design,
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as is this.
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And this is something
that a lot of Americans want.
that a lot of Americans want.
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But we have to understand
it's a two-part American dream.
it's a two-part American dream.
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If you're dreaming for this,
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you're also going to be dreaming of this,
often to absurd extremes,
often to absurd extremes,
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when we build our landscape
to accommodate cars first.
to accommodate cars first.
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And the experience
of being in these places --
of being in these places --
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(Laughter)
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This is not Photoshopped.
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Walter Kulash took this slide.
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It's in Panama City.
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This is a real place.
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And being a driver
can be a bit of a nuisance,
can be a bit of a nuisance,
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and being a pedestrian
can be a bit of a nuisance
can be a bit of a nuisance
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in these places.
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This is a slide that epidemiologists
have been showing for some time now,
have been showing for some time now,
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(Laughter)
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The fact that we have a society
where you drive to the parking lot
where you drive to the parking lot
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to take the escalator to the treadmill
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shows that we're doing something wrong.
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But we know how to do it better.
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Here are the two models contrasted.
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I show this slide,
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which has been a formative document
of the New Urbanism now
of the New Urbanism now
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for almost 30 years,
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to show that sprawl and the traditional
neighborhood contain the same things.
neighborhood contain the same things.
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It's just how big are they,
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how close are they to each other,
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how are they interspersed together
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and do you have a street network,
rather than a cul-de-sac
rather than a cul-de-sac
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or a collector system of streets?
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So when we look at a downtown area,
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at a place that has a hope
of being walkable,
of being walkable,
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and mostly that's our downtowns
in America's cities
in America's cities
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and towns and villages,
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we look at them and say
we want the proper balance of uses.
we want the proper balance of uses.
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So what is missing or underrepresented?
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And again, in the typical American cities
in which most Americans live,
in which most Americans live,
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it is housing that is lacking.
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The jobs-to-housing balance is off.
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And you find that when
you bring housing back,
you bring housing back,
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these other things start to come back too,
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and housing is usually first
among those things.
among those things.
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And, of course, the thing
that shows up last and eventually
that shows up last and eventually
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is the schools,
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because the people have to move in,
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the young pioneers have to move in,
get older, have kids
get older, have kids
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and fight, and then the schools
get pretty good eventually.
get pretty good eventually.
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The other part of this part,
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the useful city part,
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is transit,
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and you can have a perfectly
walkable neighborhood without it.
walkable neighborhood without it.
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But perfectly walkable cities
require transit,
require transit,
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because if you don't have access
to the whole city as a pedestrian,
to the whole city as a pedestrian,
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then you get a car,
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and if you get a car,
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the city begins to reshape itself
around your needs,
around your needs,
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and the streets get wider
and the parking lots get bigger
and the parking lots get bigger
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and you no longer have a walkable city.
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So transit is essential.
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But every transit experience,
every transit trip,
every transit trip,
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begins or ends as a walk,
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and so we have to remember to build
walkability around our transit stations.
walkability around our transit stations.
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Next category, the biggest one,
is the safe walk.
is the safe walk.
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It's what most walkability
experts talk about.
experts talk about.
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It is essential, but alone not enough
to get people to walk.
to get people to walk.
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And there are so many moving parts
that add up to a walkable city.
that add up to a walkable city.
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The first is block size.
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This is Portland, Oregon,
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famously 200-foot blocks,
famously walkable.
famously walkable.
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This is Salt Lake City,
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famously 600-foot blocks,
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famously unwalkable.
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If you look at the two,
it's almost like two different planets,
it's almost like two different planets,
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but these places were both built by humans
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and in fact, the story is that when
you have a 200-foot block city,
you have a 200-foot block city,
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you can have a two-lane city,
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or a two-to-four lane city,
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and a 600-foot block city
is a six-lane city, and that's a problem.
is a six-lane city, and that's a problem.
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These are the crash statistics.
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When you double the block size --
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this was a study
of 24 California cities --
of 24 California cities --
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when you double the block size,
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you almost quadruple
the number of fatal accidents
the number of fatal accidents
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on non-highway streets.
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So how many lanes do we have?
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This is where I'm going to tell you
what I tell every audience I meet,
what I tell every audience I meet,
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which is to remind you
about induced demand.
about induced demand.
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Induced demand applies
both to highways and to city streets.
both to highways and to city streets.
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And induced demand tells us
that when we widen the streets
that when we widen the streets
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to accept the congestion
that we're anticipating,
that we're anticipating,
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or the additional trips
that we're anticipating
that we're anticipating
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in congested systems,
it is principally that congestion
it is principally that congestion
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that is constraining demand,
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and so that the widening comes,
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and there are all of these latent trips
that are ready to happen.
that are ready to happen.
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People move further from work
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and make other choices
about when they commute,
about when they commute,
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and those lanes fill up
very quickly with traffic,
very quickly with traffic,
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so we widen the street again,
and they fill up again.
and they fill up again.
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And we've learned that
in congested systems,
in congested systems,
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we cannot satisfy the automobile.
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This is from Newsweek Magazine --
hardly an esoteric publication:
hardly an esoteric publication:
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"Today's engineers acknowledge
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that building new roads
usually makes traffic worse."
usually makes traffic worse."
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My response to reading this was,
may I please meet some of these engineers,
may I please meet some of these engineers,
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because these are not the ones that I --
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there are great exceptions
that I'm working with now --
that I'm working with now --
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but these are not the engineers
one typically meets working in a city,
one typically meets working in a city,
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where they say, "Oh, that road
is too crowded, we need to add a lane."
is too crowded, we need to add a lane."
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So you add a lane, and the traffic comes,
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and they say, "See, I told you
we needed that lane."
we needed that lane."
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This applies both to highways
and to city streets if they're congested.
and to city streets if they're congested.
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But the amazing thing
about most American cities that I work in,
about most American cities that I work in,
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the more typical cities,
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is that they have a lot of streets
that are actually oversized
that are actually oversized
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for the congestion
they're currently experiencing.
they're currently experiencing.
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This was the case in Oklahoma City,
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when the mayor came running
to me, very upset,
to me, very upset,
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because they were named
in Prevention Magazine
in Prevention Magazine
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the worst city for pedestrians
in the entire country.
in the entire country.
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10:18
Now that can't possibly be true,
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10:20
but it certainly is enough
to make a mayor do something about it.
to make a mayor do something about it.
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10:23
We did a walkability study,
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10:24
and what we found, looking
at the car counts on the street --
at the car counts on the street --
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10:28
these are 3,000-, 4,000-, 7,000-car counts
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10:31
and we know that two lanes
can handle 10,000 cars per day.
can handle 10,000 cars per day.
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10:35
Look at these numbers --
they're all near or under 10,000 cars,
they're all near or under 10,000 cars,
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10:40
and these were the streets
that were designated
that were designated
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in the new downtown plan
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10:45
to be four lanes to six lanes wide.
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10:48
So you had a fundamental disconnect
between the number of lanes
between the number of lanes
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10:51
and the number of cars
that wanted to use them.
that wanted to use them.
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10:53
So it was my job to redesign
every street in the downtown
every street in the downtown
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10:57
from curb face to curb face,
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1735
10:59
and we did it for 50 blocks of streets,
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2002
11:01
and we're rebuilding it now.
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11:02
So a typical oversized street to nowhere
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11:05
is being narrowed, and now
under construction,
under construction,
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2200
11:08
and the project is half done.
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1640
11:09
The typical street like this, you know,
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1991
11:11
when you do that,
you find room for medians.
you find room for medians.
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3446
11:15
You find room for bike lanes.
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663217
1982
11:17
We've doubled the amount
of on-street parking.
of on-street parking.
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2167
11:19
We've added a full bike network
where one didn't exist before.
where one didn't exist before.
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11:23
But not everyone has the money
that Oklahoma City has,
that Oklahoma City has,
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11:26
because they have an extraction
economy that's doing quite well.
economy that's doing quite well.
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11:29
The typical city is more
like Cedar Rapids,
like Cedar Rapids,
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11:31
where they have an all four-lane
system, half one-way system.
system, half one-way system.
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3990
11:35
And it's a little hard to see,
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11:37
but what we've done -- what we're doing;
it's in process right now,
it's in process right now,
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11:40
it's in engineering right now --
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11:42
is turning an all four-lane
system, half one-way
system, half one-way
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11:46
into an all two-lane system, all two-way,
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3577
11:49
and in so doing, we're adding
70 percent more on-street parking,
70 percent more on-street parking,
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3241
11:52
which the merchants love,
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1359
11:54
and it protects the sidewalk.
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11:55
That parking makes the sidewalk safe,
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11:57
and we're adding a much more
robust bicycle network.
robust bicycle network.
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12:01
Then the lanes themselves.
How wide are they?
How wide are they?
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12:03
That's really important.
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12:05
The standards have changed
such that, as Andrés Duany says,
such that, as Andrés Duany says,
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12:08
the typical road
to a subdivision in America
to a subdivision in America
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12:10
allows you to see
the curvature of the Earth.
the curvature of the Earth.
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2192
12:12
(Laughter)
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1039
12:13
This is a subdivision
outside of Washington from the 1960s.
outside of Washington from the 1960s.
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3245
12:16
Look very carefully
at the width of the streets.
at the width of the streets.
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12:19
This is a subdivision from the 1980s.
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2107
12:21
1960s, 1980s.
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1635
12:23
The standards have changed
to such a degree
to such a degree
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2024
12:25
that my old neighborhood of South Beach,
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733139
1953
12:27
when it was time to fix the street
that wasn't draining properly,
that wasn't draining properly,
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735116
3159
12:30
they had to widen it
and take away half our sidewalk,
and take away half our sidewalk,
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2544
12:32
because the standards were wider.
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1739
12:34
People go faster on wider streets.
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12:38
People know this.
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746109
1157
12:39
The engineers deny it,
but the citizens know it,
but the citizens know it,
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3126
12:42
so that in Birmingham, Michigan,
they fight for narrower streets.
they fight for narrower streets.
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750440
3826
12:46
Portland, Oregon, famously walkable,
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2522
12:48
instituted its "Skinny Streets" program
in its residential neighborhood.
in its residential neighborhood.
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3545
12:52
We know that skinny streets are safer.
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1850
12:54
The developer Vince Graham,
in his project I'On,
in his project I'On,
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3046
12:57
which we worked on in South Carolina,
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765349
1816
12:59
he goes to conferences and he shows
his amazing 22-foot roads.
his amazing 22-foot roads.
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3915
13:03
These are two-way roads,
very narrow rights of way,
very narrow rights of way,
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771128
2413
13:05
and he shows this well-known philosopher,
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773565
1999
13:07
who said, "Broad is the road
that leads to destruction ...
that leads to destruction ...
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2870
13:10
narrow is the road that leads to life."
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2101
13:12
(Laughter)
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13:14
(Applause)
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13:17
This plays very well in the South.
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13:19
Now: bicycles.
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1897
13:21
Bicycles and bicycling
are the current revolution underway
are the current revolution underway
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4482
13:26
in only some American cities.
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1683
13:28
But where you build it, they come.
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13:29
As a planner, I hate to say that,
but the one thing I can say
but the one thing I can say
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13:33
is that bicycle population
is a function of bicycle infrastructure.
is a function of bicycle infrastructure.
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13:37
I asked my friend Tom Brennan
from Nelson\Nygaard in Portland
from Nelson\Nygaard in Portland
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13:41
to send me some pictures
of the Portland bike commute.
of the Portland bike commute.
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13:44
He sent me this. I said,
"Was that bike to work day?"
"Was that bike to work day?"
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2508
13:46
He said, "No, that was Tuesday."
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13:48
When you do what Portland did and spend
money on bicycle infrastructure --
money on bicycle infrastructure --
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13:53
New York City has doubled the number
of bikers in it several times now
of bikers in it several times now
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4221
13:57
by painting these bright green lanes.
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2037
13:59
Even automotive cities
like Long Beach, California:
like Long Beach, California:
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3566
14:03
vast uptick in the number of bikers
based on the infrastructure.
based on the infrastructure.
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4079
14:07
And of course, what really does it,
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1691
14:08
if you know 15th Street
here in Washington, DC --
here in Washington, DC --
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2376
14:11
please meet Rahm Emanuel's
new bike lanes in Chicago,
new bike lanes in Chicago,
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2977
14:14
the buffered lane, the parallel parking
pulled off the curb,
pulled off the curb,
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842338
3378
14:17
the bikes between the parked
cars and the curb --
cars and the curb --
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4002
14:21
these mint cyclists.
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1921
14:23
If, however, as in Pasadena,
every lane is a bike lane,
every lane is a bike lane,
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3551
14:27
then no lane is a bike lane.
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855286
1961
14:29
And this is the only bicyclist
that I met in Pasadena, so ...
that I met in Pasadena, so ...
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3112
14:32
(Laughter)
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1605
14:34
The parallel parking I mentioned --
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1691
14:35
it's an essential barrier of steel
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1622
14:37
that protects the curb and pedestrians
from moving vehicles.
from moving vehicles.
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3786
14:41
This is Ft. Lauderdale;
one side of the street, you can park,
one side of the street, you can park,
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3596
14:44
the other side of the street, you can't.
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1952
14:46
This is happy hour on the parking side.
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2025
14:48
This is sad hour on the other side.
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2691
14:51
And then the trees themselves
slow cars down.
slow cars down.
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2989
14:54
They move slower when trees
are next to the road,
are next to the road,
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2286
14:56
and, of course, sometimes
they slow down very quickly.
they slow down very quickly.
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2555
15:00
All the little details --
the curb return radius.
the curb return radius.
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2952
15:03
Is it one foot or is it 40 feet?
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1662
15:04
How swoopy is that curb to determine
how fast the car goes
how fast the car goes
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3446
15:08
and how much room you have to cross.
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1715
15:09
And then I love this, because this
is objective journalism.
is objective journalism.
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3422
15:13
"Some say the entrance to CityCenter
is not inviting to pedestrians."
is not inviting to pedestrians."
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4079
15:17
When every aspect
of the landscape is swoopy,
of the landscape is swoopy,
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905539
2458
15:20
is aerodynamic, is stream-form geometrics,
348
908021
2673
15:22
it says: "This is a vehicular place."
349
910718
2317
15:25
So no one detail, no one speciality,
can be allowed to set the stage.
can be allowed to set the stage.
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913059
5075
15:30
And here, you know, this street:
351
918158
1564
15:31
yes, it will drain within a minute
of the hundred-year storm,
of the hundred-year storm,
352
919746
3892
15:35
but this poor woman
has to mount the curb every day.
has to mount the curb every day.
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923662
2792
15:38
So then quickly, the comfortable walk
has to do with the fact
has to do with the fact
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926478
2946
15:41
that all animals seek, simultaneously,
prospect and refuge.
prospect and refuge.
355
929448
4953
15:46
We want to be able to see our predators,
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934425
2100
15:48
but we also want to feel
that our flanks are covered.
that our flanks are covered.
357
936549
2519
15:51
And so we're drawn to places
that have good edges,
that have good edges,
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939092
2491
15:53
and if you don't supply the edges,
people won't want to be there.
people won't want to be there.
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941607
3328
15:56
What's the proper ratio
of height to width?
of height to width?
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2139
15:59
Is it one to one? Three to one?
361
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1775
16:00
If you get beyond one to six,
you're not very comfortable anymore.
you're not very comfortable anymore.
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3785
16:04
You don't feel enclosed.
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1319
16:06
Now, six to one in Salzburg
can be perfectly delightful.
can be perfectly delightful.
364
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3145
16:09
The opposite of Salzburg is Houston.
365
957242
2387
16:12
The point being the parking lot
is the principal problem here.
is the principal problem here.
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3600
16:16
However, missing teeth, those empty lots
can be issues as well,
can be issues as well,
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964111
3575
16:19
and if you have a missing corner
because of an outdated zoning code,
because of an outdated zoning code,
368
967710
3245
16:22
then you could have a missing nose
in your neighborhood.
in your neighborhood.
369
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2908
16:25
That's what we had in my neighborhood.
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973911
1837
16:27
This was the zoning code that said
I couldn't build on that site.
I couldn't build on that site.
371
975772
3076
16:30
As you may know, Washington, DC
is now changing its zoning
is now changing its zoning
372
978872
3727
16:34
to allow sites like this
to become sites like this.
to become sites like this.
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982623
3130
16:37
We needed a lot of variances to do that.
374
985777
2166
16:39
Triangular houses
can be interesting to build,
can be interesting to build,
375
987967
2284
16:42
but if you get one built,
people generally like it.
people generally like it.
376
990275
2702
16:45
So you've got to fill those missing noses.
377
993001
2453
16:47
And then, finally, the interesting walk:
378
995478
1958
16:49
signs of humanity.
379
997460
1672
16:51
We are among the social primates.
380
999156
1815
16:52
Nothing interests us more
than other people.
than other people.
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2188
16:55
We want signs of people.
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1003207
1494
16:56
So the perfect one-to-one ratio,
it's a great thing.
it's a great thing.
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3003
16:59
This is Grand Rapids,
a very walkable city,
a very walkable city,
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1007752
2204
17:01
but nobody walks on this street
385
1009980
1642
17:03
that connects the two
best hotels together,
best hotels together,
386
1011646
2111
17:05
because if on the left,
you have an exposed parking deck,
you have an exposed parking deck,
387
1013781
4368
17:10
and on the right,
you have a conference facility
you have a conference facility
388
1018173
2484
17:12
that was apparently designed
in admiration for that parking deck,
in admiration for that parking deck,
389
1020681
3429
17:16
then you don't attract that many people.
390
1024134
2507
17:18
Mayor Joe Riley, in his 10th term,
Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina,
Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina,
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1026665
3974
17:22
taught us it only takes
25 feet of building
25 feet of building
392
1030663
2177
17:24
to hide 250 feet of garage.
393
1032864
2294
17:27
This one I call the Chia Pet Garage.
It's in South Beach.
It's in South Beach.
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1035182
2720
17:29
That active ground floor.
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1444
17:31
I want to end with this project
that I love to show.
that I love to show.
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2719
17:34
It's by Meleca Architects.
It's in Columbus, Ohio.
It's in Columbus, Ohio.
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2511
17:36
To the left is the convention center
neighborhood, full of pedestrians.
neighborhood, full of pedestrians.
398
1044672
3690
17:40
To the right is the Short North
neighborhood -- ethnic,
neighborhood -- ethnic,
399
1048386
2664
17:43
great restaurants,
great shops, struggling.
great shops, struggling.
400
1051074
2697
17:45
It wasn't doing very well
because this was the bridge,
because this was the bridge,
401
1053795
2554
17:48
and no one was walking
from the convention center
from the convention center
402
1056373
2467
17:50
into that neighborhood.
403
1058864
1349
17:52
Well, when they rebuilt the highway,
they added an extra 80 feet to the bridge.
they added an extra 80 feet to the bridge.
404
1060237
4293
17:56
Sorry -- they rebuilt the bridge
over the highway.
over the highway.
405
1064554
2474
17:59
The city paid 1.9 million dollars,
406
1067052
2373
18:01
they gave the site to a developer,
407
1069449
2246
18:03
the developer built this
408
1071719
1391
18:05
and now the Short North
has come back to life.
has come back to life.
409
1073134
2319
18:07
And everyone says, the newspapers,
not the planning magazines,
not the planning magazines,
410
1075477
3216
18:10
the newspapers say
it's because of that bridge.
it's because of that bridge.
411
1078717
2221
18:12
So that's it. That's the general
theory of walkability.
theory of walkability.
412
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2620
18:15
Think about your own cities.
413
1083606
2020
18:17
Think about how you can apply it.
414
1085650
2417
18:20
You've got to do all four things at once.
415
1088091
1954
18:22
So find those places where you
have most of them
have most of them
416
1090069
2309
18:24
and fix what you can,
417
1092402
1905
18:26
fix what still needs fixing
in those places.
in those places.
418
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2684
18:29
I really appreciate your attention,
419
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1768
18:30
and thank you for coming today.
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2676
18:33
(Applause)
421
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2548
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jeff Speck - Urban plannerJeff Speck is a city planner and the author of "Walkable City."
Why you should listen
Jeff Speck is a city planner and architectural designer who, through writing, lectures, and built work, advocates internationally for more walkable cities.
As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he oversaw the Mayors' Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design, a federal program that helps state governors fight suburban sprawl. Prior to joining the Endowment, Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at Duany Plater-Zyberk and Co., a leading practitioner of the New Urbanism, where he led or managed more than forty of the firm's projects.
Speck is the co-author of Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream as well as The Smart Growth Manual. His latest book, Walkable City -- which Christian Science Monitor calls "timely and important, a delightful, insightful, irreverent work" -- has been the best-selling city-planning title of this decade.
Jeff Speck | Speaker | TED.com