Read the books that inspire us.

by Jeff Speck

Making walkability happen is relatively easy and cheap; seeing exactly what needs to be done is the trick.

by Charles Montgomery

Award-winning journalist Charles Montgomery finds answers to such questions at the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness

by Charles L. Marohn Jr.

Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem.

by M. Nolan Gray

The arbitrary lines of zoning maps across the country have come to dictate where Americans may live and work, forcing cities into a pattern of growth that is segregated and sprawling.

by Janette Sadik-Khan, Seth Solomonow

Streetfight demonstrates, with step-by-step visuals, how to rewrite the underlying “source code” of a street, with pointers on how to add protected bike paths, improve crosswalk space, and provide visual cues to reduce speeding.

by Kathy Madden

A user-friendly, common sense guide for everyone from community residents to mayors on how to create successful places.

by Mike Lydon, Anthony Garcia

Short-term, community-based projects—from pop-up parks to open streets initiatives—have become a powerful and adaptable new tool of urban activists, planners, and policy-makers seeking to drive lasting improvements in their cities and beyond.

by Charles L. Marohn, Jr.

Charles L. Marohn Jr. delivers an accessible and engaging exploration of America’s transportation system, laying bare the reasons why it no longer works as it once did, and how to modernize transportation to better serve local communities

by Veronica Davis

transportation expert Veronica O. Davis shines a light on the inequitable and often destructive practice of transportation planning and engineering

by Jane Jacobs

Jane argues that dense mixed-use development and walkable streets, with the "eyes on the street" of passers-by helps to maintain public order.

by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein

At the core of these books is the idea that people should design for themselves their own houses, streets, and communities.

by Anthony M. Townsend

In Smart Cities, urbanist and technology expert Anthony Townsend takes a broad historical look at the forces that have shaped the planning and design of cities and information technologies from the rise of the great industrial cities of the nineteenth century to the present.

by Steven Higashide

In the US, they have long been an afterthought in budgeting and planning. With a compelling narrative and actionable steps, Better Buses, Better Cities inspires us to fix the bus.

by Jarrett Walker

This book provides the basic tools and critical questions needed to make smarter decisions about designing and implementing services, refreshed with updated information and examples.

by James Fallows, Deborah Fallows

A vivid, surprising portrait of the civic and economic reinvention taking place in America, town by town and generally out of view of the national media.