Walkability | Planetizen Courses

Walkability is the ability to safely walk between homes and businesses, transit stations, and other amenities in a reasonably short amount of time. Promoting walkable neighborhoods and cities reduces the need for personal vehicles and carbon emissions, gives citizens more freedom to access services and businesses, and encourages high-density infill development that makes use of existing resources and infrastructure. Planners can promote walkable design by incentivizing infill, eliminating parking requirements, and investing in robust public transit and mixed-use development that puts businesses closer to where their customers live and work.

Walkability Courses

aerial view of suburban homes

The Story of Sprawl - With Commentary Tracks

143 Mins

pedestrians and bicyclist in helsinki

Women and Cities 5: The Feminist Future City

Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

59 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

cars and buses on busy street with metro train in background

Transportation Planning: The Role of Transportation Systems in Social and Economic Life

Richard Willson

47 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

Train in City

Introduction to Transit Service Policy

105 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

exterior of leed building

Greening the Neighborhood: LEED-ND Core Concepts

29 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

screen capture of the four panelists

The Future of Cities After COVID-19

James Brasuell, Allison Arieff, Mariela Alfonzo, Scott Frazier, William Fulton

57 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

black and white image of a crosswalk light with a green walking man and a red hanging man

Walkable City 2: The Useful Walk

82 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

storefronts lined on sidewalk

Frontage Types and the Public Realm

72 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

Denver union station with city skyline aerial photo

Introduction to Transit Oriented Development

51 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

cars in traffic emitting pollution

Transportation Planning: Effects on the Environment, Health, and Social Justice

Richard Willson

57 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

Sketch of a mixed-use street scene

Placemaking for Innovation: Creating Innovation Ecosystems

50 Mins

CIP
AICP CM

view of downtown minneapolis from bridge

Greening the Neighborhood: LEED-ND Metrics

65 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

still from the movie of two people walking on sidewalk with trees and buildings in the background

Lewis Mumford on the City 4: The Heart of the City

29 Mins

AICP CM

Car crashed into interstate wall with firefighters and people pointing.

Walkable City 3: The Safe Walk (A)

77 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

aerial view of ancient city grid

The American City, Part 1: A Brief History of the Regular Grid

Mark David Major

47 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

aerial of denver with buildings and transit

Equitable Transit Oriented Development

57 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

metro train with buildings in background

Transportation Planning: Land Use and Transportation Systems

Richard Willson

62 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

sculpture in an urban plaza

Design for Peace and Democracy

Kristin Faurest

50 Mins

CIP
AICP CM

leed buildings with green space in foreground

Greening the Neighborhood: LEED-ND Globally and v.4 Update

51 Mins

AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

bicyclists with city bus in background in santa monica

Incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals into the Planning Process

66 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM
SACPLAN CPD

View on pedestrian crossing and bike way in city

Walkable City 4: The Safe Walk (B)

82 Mins

CIP
AIA CES
AICP CM

aerial view of los angeles at night

The American City, Part 2: The Invention of a New Scale

Mark David Major

50 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

city skyline

A New Era of Downtown Opportunity: The Intersection of Housing and Innovation

65 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM

aerial view of cars at large intersection

Transportation Planning: Travel Behavior Principles and Modelling Approaches

Richard Willson

55 Mins

AIA CES
AICP CM
CNU-A
SACPLAN CPD

Top Walkability Instructors

David Dixon

David is well known for helping create new, mixed-use urban districts (in both cities and suburbs)...

Richard Willson

Richard Willson is a professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at California State...

Jeff Speck

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

Eliot Allen

Eliot Allen, certified, LEED AP-ND, is an urban planner and Principal with Criterion Planners of Portland...

Mark David Major

Dr. Mark David Major, AICP, CNU-A is a Professor of Urban Design at the Savannah College...

Lennart Nout

Lennart is an urban mobility design consultant, specializing in design and planning of bicycle networks and...

Kristin Faurest

Kristin Faurest is a public garden education and outreach professional, author, and landscape architecture educator, committed...

Adam Fine

Adam is the Director of experiential graphic design at Nova Scotia-based Fathom Studio and has worked...

Geoffrey Ferrell

Geoffrey is one of the originators of the modern practice of Form-Based Codes. His work ranges...

Jarrett Walker

Jarrett Walker is an international consultant in public transit network design and policy, with 25 years...

John Hersey

John is a planner with two decades of experience critically evaluating and advancing transit-oriented development as...

Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

Katrina is a lecturer, researcher, and advocate for heart-centered cities. Her work focuses on human behavior...

Donald Shoup

Donald Shoup is Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA. His research...

Lisa Nisenson

Lisa Nisenson has 20 years of experience and leadership in smart growth, sustainable development and civic...

Daniel Parolek

Daniel Parolek is a nationally recognized thought leader in architecture, design, and urban planning, specifically in...

Victor Dover

Victor Dover is a town planner and urban designer with 29 years of leadership in the...

Mary Madden

Mary Madden has nearly 20 years of experience in the fields of urban planning and design...

Tim Halbur

Tim Halbur is communications director for the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), the leading organization...

Mike Lydon

Mike Lydon is a Principal of The Street Plans Collaborative.

Thomas Hamed

Thomas Hamed, AICP is a transportation planner who specializes in commuter transportation and mobility for all...

Jonathan Katz-Ouziel

Jonathan Katz-Ouziel is an autistic planner, an independent accessibility consultant, and the founder of Opossum House...

Angie Schmitt

Angie Schmitt is a writer and founder of 3MPH Planning and Consulting, a Cleveland-based firm focused...

Lance Freeman

Lance Freeman is a Professor in the Urban Planning Program at Columbia University in New York...

Dave Amos

Dave is an Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cal Poly...

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All Walkability Courses

Building Bad, Part 2: How Architectural Utility is Damaged by Expression

Instructor: Jonathan Ochshorn

Join Jonathan Ochshorn on a captivating exploration of his theory "Building Bad" in Part Two of this course. Discover the fascinating interplay between artistic expression and the functionality of buildings, and how they can sometimes clash.

4.33

59 Mins

CIP

AIA CES

AICP CM

Building Bad, Part 1: How Architectural Utility is Constrained by Politics

Instructor: Jonathan Ochshorn

Discover the theory of “Building Bad”: an examination of the costs and benefits that can limit the functionality of buildings in exchange for profits.

4.38

57 Mins

CIP

AIA CES

AICP CM

Environmental and Sustainability Standards

Instructor: Carlos Zapata

This course explains the different and most relevant sustainability standards—such as GRI, CDP, SASB, ISO, B-Corp, and others—as well as the differences between process and performance standards.

4.20

61 Mins

CIP

AICP CM