Saturday 30 August 2008

Saturday Photo: Walking to Work in the Walkable City

Thursday 'round midnight Simon Dardick at Véhicule Press sent off the final files to the printer for my new book The Walkable City: From Haussmann's Boulevards to Jane Jacobs' Streets and Beyond.

The days before had been pretty crazy as we sent corrections back and forth. One of the things that we debated to the last was the picture for the frontispiece. Simon said he wanted something that reflected the spirit of the book, which looks at Paris, New York, Toronto and several other places to discover how cities are walkable or not and what that means for the future of the planet.

The photo on the right is what he decided was the best, and the more I think about it, the better I like it. I took it a week ago on a lovely morning when Montreal and Montrealers were beginning to come back from summer vacation. The young couple were headed downtown from Mile End, walking hand and hand in the future. A good image for a book that hopes to have some small impact on how we live in and develop our cities.

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