10 Techniques for Making Cities More Walkable, The Atlantic Cities, December 3, 2012

Kaid Benfield,  director of the Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, co-founder of the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system, and co-founder of Smart Growth America, summarizes the ten ways we can make cities more walkable as detailed in a new book, The Walkable City, by Jeff Speck.

The money quote from the book:

The conventional wisdom used to be that creating a strong economy came first, and that increased population and a higher quality of life would follow. The converse now seems more likely:  creating a higher quality of life is the first step to attracting new residents and jobs.

Here's his list of the key techniques for improving quality of life:

1.  Put cars in their place.
2.  Mix the uses.
3.  Get the parking right.
4.  Let transit work. 
5.  Protect the pedestrian.
6.  Welcome bikes.
7.  Shape the spaces.
8.  Plant trees.
9.  Make friendly and unique [building] faces.
10.  Pick your winners.

For his discussion of these features, read the entire article here.