2014-2015 Academic Year

Welcome to CSU's 2014 Common Reading Events Site!

This year's book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, is by Urbanist Jeff Speck, who dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. And he has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability. Making walkability happen is relatively easy and cheap; seeing exactly what needs to be done is the trick. In this essential new book, Speck reveals the invisible workings of the city, how simple decisions have cascading effects, and how we can all make the right choices for our communities.

About the Author -- Jeff Speck

Jeff Speck is a city planner and urban designer who, through writing, public service, and built work, advocates internationally for smart growth and sustainable design. He leads Speck & Associates, a private consultancy offering design and advisory services to North American municipalities and the real-estate development industry. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, Mr. Speck oversaw the Mayors’ Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design. His recent book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time is exerting a profound impact on the design of communities nationwide. Recent work of Speck & Associates includes downtown master plans, waterfront visions, urban and suburban infill plans, transit-oriented designs, street plans, and walkability studies for communities including Lowell, Massachusetts; Memphis, Tennessee; and Grand Rapids, Michigan.