Why i have become such a convert on planting more trees in cities: A tree can cool a place the same as 10 room-size air conditioners running 24 hours a day! 🌳🏡🌲 From @jeffspeck.bsky.social’s “Walkable City” book

@jeffspeck.bsky.social Walkable City for sure. Jacob's D+L for sure but maybe even more important her Cities And The Wealth of Nations.

“Investing in the downtown of a city is the only place-based way to benefit all of its citizens at once.” — @jeffspeck.bsky.social Remember that the next time politicians or suburban voters try to challenge the value of investing in strong downtowns and successful urban places. #UrbanTruth

I love this messaging!

A short list: Walkable City @jeffspeck.bsky.social Happy City @charlesincities.bsky.social Life After Cars @sgoodyear.bsky.social & @brooklynspoke.bsky.social Street Fight @jskstreet.bsky.social All readable. Killed By A Traffic Engineer for heavier read @wesmars.bsky.social #UrbanismBookClub

Will this be enough evidence for @volts.wtf to finally invite me on his awesome show?

My annual 2-day class at Harvard is coming up soon. Come work, walk, and talk with me this May! Any questions about it? execed.gsd.harvard.edu/programs/wal...

Hello, #Columbus! I'm giving a talk tonight in #Dublin. . . Hope to see you all there! www.eventbrite.com/e/a-more-wal...

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Comparison #2 Please help contribute to this real dataset. Look at these two slides. Just take a wild guess as to the average home value on each street. Reply with two dollar amounts, Street 1 and Street 2. Your input matters. Thank you!

I got a great reception in Sacramento this week. It didn't hurt that I was following in the footsteps of @brenttoderian.bsky.social 's Downtown Livability Strategy! Check it out: www.downtownsac.org/wp-content/u...

It bears repeating. You can watch Hammond, Indiana and @jeffspeck.bsky.social partner to make plans for a revitalized downtown. (documentary produced by Lakeshore Public Media which is available in Chicago on sat, cable, and over-the-air)

My best dressed fans last night in #austin. @thewaroncars.bsky.social @parkingreform.org

Lost in the culture war surrounding rainbow crosswalks: they save lives. usa.streetsblog.org/2026/02/09/t...

ACTUAL RESEARCH: Comparison #2 (This is a new one.) Please help contribute to this real dataset. Look at these two slides. Just take a wild guess as to the average home value on each street. Reply with two dollar amounts, Street 1 and Street 2. Your input matters. Thank you!

ACTUAL RESEARCH: Comparison #2 (This is a new one.) Please help contribute to this real dataset. Look at these two slides. Just take a wild guess as to the average home value on each street. Reply with two dollar amounts, Street 1 and Street 2. Your input matters. Thank you!

Speck Dempsey is hiring! www.speckdempsey.com/joinourteam

Sad to read this today. Deep condolences to all his RAMSA colleagues, friends, and family. Bob Stern was both a true scholar and a captain of industry. I got to work with him in the 90s and was touched by how solicitous he was of this nobody’s opinions. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/a...

We are growing a great data set. Anyone else want to weigh in?

Free talk tomorrow. . . Hope to share with you the amazing story of downtown OKC. Also, I'm giving away my slides at the end. Enticed? gatech.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Have you been taking my courses on @planetizen? Try it, you'll like it! Walkable City 6, The Interesting Walk just dropped today: courses.planetizen.com/courses/the-...

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS when you run for mayor on a "pull out the bike lanes" platform in Boston. Yay @wutrain ! @bostonbikeunion @MassBike @WalkMass apnews.com/article/elec...

Rule 101: Dream Big Cities like NYC & Chicago didn’t just fix problems—they dreamed big. Charleston’s mayor, Joseph Riley’s message was "No one recalls a balanced budget—build a park instead.” His parks now host 5M+ visitors yearly. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Yes, UPS gets it right. Thank you for not blocking the bike lane!

Rule 100: Don't Give Up on Sprawl Instead of trying to end sprawl, focus on improving it for the people there by reviving town centers, reusing empty malls, & building mixed-use neighborhoods. This is called “Retrofitting Suburbia." Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 99: Start Code Reform Now Form-based codes helps walkability by focusing on how spaces look & feel, not just what they’re used for. Start w/a 1 page zoning overlay to guide better development while planning long-term reforms. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

91: Save Those Buildings Preservation isn’t only about nostalgia, it also has practical benefits! - Historic districts thrive in recession & attract small businesses - It’s greener & less wasteful - They support diversity & community Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 65: Provide Angle Parking Where Warranted Angled parking fits more cars without widening streets & calms traffic by requiring careful backing-in. Tucson switched to rear-angle parking & cut crashes from 1/week to 0 over 4 years. Walkable City Rules: www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 98: Do Some Tactical Urbanism Start w/looking for temporary ways to improve your area, & call it a pilot project. Use "Walk [Your City]", which offers tools 4 guerilla wayfinding signs & ask to do tests instead of costly studies. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 97: Rebuild... or Restripe? In 2012 Cedar Rapids planned a $3M rebuild for 5 blocks, instead they repainted 30 blocks for the same price. Results: 78%↓ pedestrian crashes, 57 new businesses, 800 homes, 2k jobs & $282M growth Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 96: A Network of Walkability Show which streets are best for walking, streets fall into 3 groups: Priority: Busy but unsafe, fix first Primary: Decent now, upgrade next Secondary: Low need now Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 95: Do a Frontage Quality Assessment & Locate Anchors See where people want to walk & where they need to go. Frontage Quality: lively streets, where they want to walk Anchors: where they need to walk (key destinations ex: shops). Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 94: Do a Walkability Study A walkability study helps communities make areas safer and easier for walking and biking by focusing on 4 types of walks: - the useful walk - the safe walk - the comfortable walk - the interesting walk Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 93: Direct Your Public Art budget to Blank Walls Public art is often wasted on plaza sculptures. Cities should use art budgets for murals on blank walls, which, like trees, make streets more pleasant and welcoming. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 92: Hide the Parking Structures Exposed parking decks drain street life & make walking dull. It only takes 20 ft of building to hide 200 ft of parking. Hide parking structures behind buildings; design garages for future reuse. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Who knows where I am?

Rule 90: Break Up Big Buildings Big buildings can overwhelm a street, but “demise lines” breaks the facade conceptually into smaller units, helping the large buildings look like a collection of smaller structures built independently. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 89: Limit Repetition Big projects feel more human when split into smaller, unique buildings by different architects. Variety boosts walkability, beauty, & real estate value—plus 1 mistake affects 1 building not the whole project. Walkable City Rules: www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 88: Make Sticky Edges Gehl’s Cities for People: “sticky edges”—buildings that make people linger—bring streets alive; blank walls repel. Hence, Melbourne mandates 60% openings for shops, 25% for homes, & a window/door every 10’. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 87: Don’t Let Terrorists Design Your City NYC spends $50M on terror bollards—but far less on crashes. Data shows you’re 568x likelier to die in a crash than terror—yet terror gets far more funding per victim. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 86: Use Lighting to Support Urbanism Lighting shapes space—auto-centric models use tall bright poles; urban ones emphasize attraction & character. Drop coverage rules—use low-energy, mid-height curb lights, creative flair & urban context. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 85: Build Vancouver Urbanism Vancouver, created a unique walkable, mixed-use downtown without freeways after a 1960s revolt. Limit tall buildings to the Vancouver model: broad, block-filling bases below towers w/small footprints. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 84: Never Allow Front Parking Replace with side/rear lots instead. Front parking hurts walkability by forcing people to cross big lots, reduces safety w/curb cuts, looks ugly & deters walkers & energy from businesses & streets. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 83: Make Firm Edges Biologists say animals, us included, seek prospect (seeing predators) & refuge (protection from attack). This desire is why good plazas need good edges. 1:1 = ideal ratio; past 1:6 loses spatial definition. Walkable City Rules: www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 82: Introduce Parklets They widen narrow sidewalks, add space without costly construction, & make streets more walkable. Cities should them with Parklet Programs: business support, faster approvals, & funding in tight spots. Walkable City Rules: www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 81: Disallow Curb Cuts Driveways across sidewalks hurt walkability." In walkable areas, ban new curb cuts (except garages/hotels w/o alley), cap width at 20' for large lots, 10' otherwise, match sidewalk paving, & remove old ones. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 80: Design Sidewalks Properly In cities, good sidewalks need 6'+ of space—12'+ on busy streets. Have 3 zones: Clear: 6’ min, for walking/rolling Tree: 5'–8’, for trees, benches, lights Frontage: 2'–3’, for signs, seating, ect. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 79: Select and Locate Street Trees Properly Plant large, consistent tree species 20'–40' apart, depending on the tree. Use double allées where possible, add trees to medians, & follow best practices with structural soil. Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

Rule 78: Put Street Trees Almost Everywhere Street trees do it all, they... Cut crashes by 45% Raise home values 9% Boost retail sales 12% Clean air, cool streets, absorb stormwater, improve health, and make places more inviting Walkable City Rules www.amazon.com/Walkable-Cit...

I’m proud of my tiny contribution (under my previous handle of Queen Anne Greenways) to Jeff’s excellent book: the prayerrow.