Calendar of Events

Human Transit How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives Jarrett Walker Island Press, 2011  Public transit is a powerful tool for addressing a huge range of urban problems, including traffic congestion and economic development as well as climate change. But while many people support transit in the abstract, it’s hard to channel that support into good transit investments. Transit debates attract many kinds of experts, who often talk past each other. Ordinary people listen to a little of this and decide that transit is impossible to figure out. Jarrett Walker believes that transit can be simple, if we focus first on the underlying geometry that all transit technologies share. In Human Transit, Walker supplies the basic tools, the critical questions, and the means to make smarter decisions about designing and implementing transit services.  Human Transit explains the fundamental geometry of transit that shapes successful systems, and the local choices that lead to truly transit-friendly development. At the same time, the book challenges land use planners and architects to respect the nature of good transit networks, just as all development respects the nature of roads.  Many development plans, even those for “transit oriented development,” still get these essentials wrong.  It’s fun to imagine that some new technology or innovation will make transit work in a new way, but as Walker cautions, “technology never changes geometry.”  In fact, respect for transit’s natural geometry can unleash a flood of great ideas, including new ways to “repair” the suburban arterial, new approaches to town center design, and new strategies for envisioning urban structure as a city grows.  Unlike many of the dreams of visionaries, these ideas can succeed because they fit the reality of how transit actually works. Whether you are in the field or simply a concerned citizen, here is an accessible guide to achieving successful public transit that will enrich any community.   To read the introduction and table of contents, see HumanTransit.org .   Available direct from Islandpress.org (US), Newsouthbooks.com.au (Australia/NZ), and all major online outlets.