People:

• Jeff Speck

  • Book: Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, 10th Anniversary Edition - Jeff Speck

  • Video: TED Talk: The Walkable City - Jeff Speck

YouTube:

• Not Just Bikes

• City Beautiful

• Strong Towns

Additional Books:

• A Pattern Language - Christopher Alexander

  - An incredible book that has a place of honor on my desk. The very first book that got me interested in smart design. I purchased it upon being recommended by my Home Horticulture professor at NC State, Ann Spafford. She recommended it to us for inspiration in home and garden design but I took notice of how inspirational the entire book is for designing based on living a good life. It discusses home design from perspectives including circadian rhythms, keeping in mind children’s needs as they grow, community building, the need for parents’ bedrooms to be a retreat, and much more. In discussing the design of communities he mentions elements like having older people everywhere, the benefits that a semi-public workshop can have on elders, the benefits and exact design of street cafes, and the importance of keeping shop spaces small and owned by present locals so the community’s money stays in the community and so entrepreneurs have the opportunity to start up their small business without the huge risk imposed on them by requiring them to rent large buildings on the edge of town.

• The Life and Death of Great American Cities

  - Began the reformation of the planning profession off of its mistaken path in the early 60s

• Suburban Nation - Jeff Speck, Andres Duany, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk

Websites:

• Congress for the New Urbanism

• International Dark Sky Association

• Project for Public Spaces

  • Article: What Makes a Place Great (4 key qualities)

• McMansion Hell

Inspiration:

Inspiring Projects:

• Seaside - Florida

• Culdesac - Tempe, Arizona

Inspirational Places:

• Manitou Springs, Colorado: Website

• River Walk - San Antonio, Texas (Instagram)

• Bricktown Canal - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Instagram)