Beyond Mobility Planning Cities for People and Places

January 18, 2018

New Book: Beyond Mobility Planning Cities for People and Places By Robert Cervero, Erick Guerra, and Stefan Al

Cities across the globe have been designed with a primary goal of moving people around quickly—and the costs are becoming ever more apparent.
The consequences are measured in smoggy air basins, sprawling suburbs, a failure to stem traffic congestion, and 1.25 million traffic fatalities each year. It is clear that change is needed. Instead of planning primarily for mobility, our cities should recalibrate planning and design to focus on the safety, health, and access of people in them.

Beyond Mobility (Publication Date: Dec. 5, 2017) is about prioritizing the needs and aspirations of people and the creation of great places. Authored by three experts in the field, including global transportation authority Robert Cervero, the book shows how a stronger focus on accessibility and place creates better communities, environments, and economies. 

Throughout the book, the authors provide an optimistic outlook about the potential to transform places for the better. Drawing on their own experiences and case studies from a range of cities and countries around the globe, they show how planning for people is already underway.

Examples range from car-free districts in Cambridge, England, to suburban transformations in Tysons, VA, to urban greenways and land reclamation in Seoul, South Korea.

Throughout, Beyond Mobility emphasizes the need to rethink project planning and design at multiple scales—from micro-designs such as parklets to corridors and city-regions. The book closes with a reflection on the opportunities and challenges in moving beyond mobility, with attention to emerging technologies such as self-driving cars and ride-hailing services and social equity topics such as accessibility, livability, and affordability.

Reid Ewing, Chair and Professor of the City & Metropolitan Planning Program at the University of Utah, said: “Robert Cervero and his colleagues have produced what may become the most influential book of this generation and land use and transportation, providing an elegant conceptual framework, excellent case studies, and cutting-edge thinking.”

Beyond Mobility is an inspirational blueprint for creating great places. It is a must-read for planners, designers, and anyone else interested in creating more livable cities and suburbs.

Robert Cervero is Professor Emeritus of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. Erick Guerra is Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches courses in transportation planning and quantitative planning methods. Stefan Al is Associate Professor of Urban Design at the University of Pennsylvania.

Beyond Mobility
Island Press Paperback
Original Publication Date: December 5, 2017
280 pages | 7x10 | Price: $45.00 (P) $45.00(E) ISBN: 978-1-61091-834-3  
https://islandpress.org/book/beyond-mobility

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