Jeff Speck

Jeff Speck is a city planner who advocates internationally for more walkable cities. His 2012 book Walkable City is the best selling city-planning title of this century and has been translated into seven languages. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he presided over the Mayors' Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design. Prior to his federal appointment, Mr. Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co., the principal firm behind the New Urbanism movement. From 2007 to 2023, he led Speck & Associates, a private design consultancy serving mainly American cities. With Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Mr. Speck is the co-author of Suburban Nation, which the Wall Street Journal calls "the urbanist's bible.” He is also the writer of The Smart Growth Manual and Walkable City Rules.