Streets & Networks
The design of a city's streets is often all that stands in the way of a more walkable future. Our street plans have brought struggling downtowns back to life.
Image: Monon Boulevard | Carmel, Indiana
In 2008, Prevention magazine named Oklahoma City the “least walkable city in America.” Mayor Mick Cornett reached out to Jeff Speck for help, and the concept of the Walkability Study was born. Seven years later, the majority of the streets in the City’s downtown core had been remade in line with that study’s recommendations.
Since that effort—the first “walkability study” on record—Speck Dempsey has completed similar projects for fifteen other cities and one university: Grand Rapids, MI; Memphis, TN; Davenport, IA; Bethlehem, PA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Norwalk, CT; Boise, ID; West Palm Beach, FL; Albuquerque, NM; Lancaster, PA; Tulsa, OK; Rogers, AR; Mobile, AL; Scranton, PA; Hyannis, MA; and The University of Alabama. These efforts vary based on need, but all include detailed recommendations for the reconfiguration of streets, the development of key private and public properties, and the provision and management of transit and parking, all towards the stated goal of quickly increasing the amount of walking and biking downtown.
Implementation has varied, based on an each City’s political commitment to becoming more walkable and bikeable. In some cities, like Fort Lauderdale and Albuquerque, the Walkability Study has become a central document shaping City investment. In others, shifts in leadership or other factors have limited the Study’s impact to fewer locations. For this reason, Speck Dempsey now chooses its Walkability Study clients with great care, typically completing only one such effort each year.
Project Examples
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News
Hundreds Turn Up for Kick Off of Watertown Square Redesign, Designers Want to Make Area More Walkable
Other Media
"We are over the moon from your visit here… You’ve got everyone talking and saying, ‘What if?’, which was exactly what we hoped for. There were people in the room who we initially thought would never come, and I watched in amazement as they nodded in agreement at different points of your presentation. You educated, entertained, and electrified our audience, and now it’s on us to translate it into action!"
- Micaela Porter
Librarian, New Canaan, Connecticut
"I sat there with my usual skepticism that I always apply to new information, and the evidence that Jeff Speck presented was absolutely undeniable. Really, he did change my heart and mind on [a complete streets approach to planning]."
- Mayor Bill Gordon
Midland, Ontario
"[Jeff’s] presentation knocked our socks off. He is as gifted a speaker as he is a writer, and his talk had the audience laughing and sighing in equal measure. I was struck by how many people told me later that he had completely shifted their line of thinking on things like one-way streets, bike lanes, and parking. His observations created a buzz in our already buzzing town, in a way I haven’t seen in my nearly 20 years of working on public issues in the city."
- Monica Kile
Executive Director, Preserve the 'Burg
"Jeff took just a few hours to synthesize a lot of information, and then gave us an hour and a half presentation on his perspective. His presentation was entertaining, informative and incredibly insightful. Jeff hit all the 'nails on the head' of what we as elected officials have been grappling with in our downtown."
- Michelle Pirone Lanmbros
Council Member, Princeton, New Jersey