Summary of Jeff Speck's Walkable City

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The obvious answer to how cities can attract creative talent is to provide the sort of environment that these people want. Surveys show how creative-class citizens, especially millennials, favor communities with street life.

#2 The American landscape has changed since the seventies, when most teens could walk to school, to the store, and to the soccer field. Now, the majority of teenagers do not have driver’s licenses.

#3 The millennials are the biggest population bubble in fifty years. Sixty-four percent of college-educated millennials choose first where they want to live, and only then do they look for a job. They plan to live in America’s urban cores.

#4 The generation raised on Friends is not the only one looking for new places to live. Front-end boomers, who are citizens that cities want, are looking for walkability.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822502369

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on Jeff Speck's Walkable City

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The obvious answer to how cities can attract creative talent is to provide the sort of environment that these people want. Surveys show how creative-class citizens, especially millennials, favor communities with street life.

#2

The American landscape has changed since the seventies, when most teens could walk to school, to the store, and to the soccer field. Now, the majority of teenagers do not have driver’s licenses.

#3

The millennials are the biggest population bubble in fifty years. Sixty-four percent of college-educated millennials choose first where they want to live, and only then do they look for a job. They plan to live in America’s urban cores.

#4

The generation raised on Friends is not the only one looking for new places to live. Front-end boomers, who are citizens that cities want, are looking for walkability.

#5

The American built environment can be divided into two categories: walkable urbanism and drivable sub-urbanism. In the Detroit region, housing in walkable urbanism is valued at a 40 percent premium over similar housing in drivable sub-urbanism.

#6

A metropolitan area that does not offer walkable urbanism is probably destined to lose economic development opportunities. The growing demand for pedestrian-friendly places is reflected in the success of Walk Score, a website that calculates neighborhood walkability.

#7

The demand for walkable urbanism already surpasses the supply. This disparity is only going to get bigger as more people realize the health benefits of walking and the wealth benefits of investing in walkable neighborhoods.

#8

Portland, Oregon, is a great example of how a city can benefit from being walkable. While almost every other American city has seen its residents drive farther and farther every year and spend more