Making Streets for Walking: Dan Burden on Reforming Design Standards

One of the foundational documents in our country's history of car-centric street design is what's known as the Green Book. These engineering guidelines, which have been published in various editions by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, are only "green" if you're looking at the cover.
Fortunately, these engineering standards are shifting. "We should take control of our streets. If 85 percent of our motorists are driving faster than we want them to, then we need to redesign the street."

The book: "Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach" aims to define a more humane engineering language for streets. The report is intended to supplement the Green Book by laying out a set of design standards that make sense in places where people can get around by foot or on a bicycle.

http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/04/08/making-streets-for-walking-dan-burden-on-reforming-design-standards/