Bright walkway inbetween buildings with palm trees and a man walking in the background in Dubai

Walkable City 5: The Comfortable Walk

To encourage walking, cities must create comfortable, well-designed pedestrian environments — like outdoor living rooms — with clear orientation, shade, tree cover, and cohesive design, achievable through tools like form-based codes, urban forestry plans, and strong urban design.

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Course Info

  • Duration 8 video lessons (66 Mins)
  • Published Published
    2025
  • Trending Trending
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Browse Course Chapters

  • Chapter Locked
    1.
    Introduction
    Chapter Duration 3 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    2.
    Spatial Definition
    Chapter Duration 4 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    3.
    Figural Space
    Chapter Duration 10 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    4.
    Closed Vistas
    Chapter Duration 3 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    5.
    Form-Based Codes
    Chapter Duration 18 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    6.
    Shadows
    Chapter Duration 4 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    7.
    Trees
    Chapter Duration 12 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    8.
    Urban Design
    Chapter Duration 9 mins

What You Will Learn

- Learn how spatial definition and the creation of “outdoor living rooms” is key to pedestrian comfort.
 

- Learn about form-based codes as the superior alternative to use-based zoning. 
 

- Learn about the rural-to-urban transect.
 

- Learn about the need for more, typically not less, shadow.
 

- Learn about the benefits of urban trees and the best arguments for investing in them. 
 

- Learn from examples of good vs. bad urban design.

Course Description

If people with a choice are going to make the choice to walk, that walk needs to be comfortable. That category of consideration includes spatial definition, orientation, legibility, and thermal comfort. The ideal pedestrian environment feels like an outdoor living room, with good edges (streetwalls), a sense of direction, consistent character, shade, and tree cover. While form-based codes and urban forestry plans are effective modern tools for achieving these outcomes, ultimately, there is no substitute for proper urban design.

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Learn these skills

  • Pedestrian Planning
  • Site Planning
  • Transportation
  • Urban Design
  • Urbanism
  • Walkability
  • Zoning Codes

AICP CM

This course is approved for 1 AICP CM credit.

AIA CES

This course is 1 LU.

CIP

This course is eligible for self-reported CIP unstructured CPL units.

Meet Your Instructor

Jeff Speck

Jeff Speck

Jeff Speck is a city planner who advocates internationally for more walkable cities.

Meet Instructor

Course Reviews

4.59
Sean Hoelscher 1

Sean Hoelscher 1

Extremely Satisfied
Michael Devigne

Michael Devigne

Extremely Satisfied
Rema Abdelfattah

Rema Abdelfattah

Extremely Satisfied
WILLIAM DINSMORE

WILLIAM DINSMORE

Extremely Satisfied

Course Reviews

64%
31%
5%
0%
0%
Maura Rigoni

Maura Rigoni

Satisfied
rrob

rrob

Extremely Satisfied
Gabrielle Collard

Gabrielle Collard

Extremely Satisfied
Susan Repko

Susan Repko

Extremely Satisfied
Another excellent course in this series on walkability. Highly recommend!
Liz Axelson AICP CPL

Liz Axelson AICP CPL

Extremely Satisfied
Jeff Speck’s presentation gives in depth, on the ground and in the neighborhood insights based on trends and facts explained in this multipart exploration of the dangers and useful aspects of walkability and changes that contribute to more interesting and enjoyable places. Aspects discussed include concepts such as the outdoor living room, prospect and refuge, how buildings, streets, parks and other landscape features shape a closed vista and provide definition to communities with public spaces and green areas. Urban and suburban examples are presented, noting the importance of shadows and trees and the need for gathering areas, pedestrian and bicycle amenities. The themes of a convenient, safer, interconnected pedestrian, street and transit network are discussed.
Mark Daniel

Mark Daniel

Extremely Satisfied
Coral Cavanagh

Coral Cavanagh

Extremely Satisfied
Joshua Donaldson

Joshua Donaldson

Satisfied

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