A recent book highlights the Short North neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio as an example where density and urban form work together to create an environment that is “Made for Walking”:
Made for Walking: Density and Neighborhood Form by Julie Campoli.
I reviewed this book for the Journal of Regional Science; you can access my review here (although it is behind a paywall). Here are some excerpts:
In Made for Walking: Density and Neighborhood Form ̧ urban designer Julie Campoli illustrates – literally – the interplay between density and urban design in creating neighborhoods that “celebrate(s) the experience of walking” (p. 10). Made for Walking is a sequel to Visualizing Density, another image-rich book that illustrates the role of density in promoting walkable neighborhoods through numerous aerial photographs. Campoli highlights twelve North American neighborhoods where density and design interplay to create walkable communities, including LoDo and the Central Platte Valley (Denver, Colorado), The Pearl District (Portland, Oregon), Little Portugal (Toronto, Ontario) and The Short North (Columbus, Ohio). Each case study consists of text describing the neighborhood’s urban setting, history and challenges, integrated with high-quality photographs and maps.
Although framed by introductory chapters on walkability concepts and concluding chapters on green design, socio-demographic trends, and the relationships between urban form and transportation, Made for Walking is a coffee table (or perhaps desktop) book rather an academic tome. Made for Walking is not written for the academic economist, geographer or regional scientist who wants to understand the evidence about walkability or whether these neighborhoods are an effective solution to the economic, social, environmental and public health problems that plague many North American cities. Campoli’s audience is the practicing planner, urban designer, community activist or public official who accepts walkability as desirable and would like a sense of how these neighborhoods work and perhaps material to convince others about the joy of walkable neighborhoods. Several thorny issues are ignored or given short treatment, such as social equity and the debate about whether built environment interventions generate new walking or simply attract people who would walk anyway.
Made for Walking succeeds as a richly illustrated bible for advocates of urban design for active transportation. If you are a believer, you will find much to contemplate and enjoy in this volume. It will also make you want to travel to these twelve neighborhoods (but be sure to purchase carbon offsets first). As a believer who just moved to one of the neighborhoods highlighted by Campoli, I can state that much of what she illustrates in Made for Walking resonates well with my experience.