Jeff Speck is a renowned American city planner, urban designer, author, and leading advocate for walkable cities. As the founding partner of Speck Dempsey (formerly Speck & Associates), he has consulted with numerous communities to redesign streets, downtowns, and neighborhoods for greater walkability, safety, and vibrancy. He previously served as Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts and as Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co., a key firm in the New Urbanism movement. Speck co-authored influential books like Suburban Nation (with Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk) and The Smart Growth Manual, but he is best known for his 2012 bestseller Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, along with its follow-up Walkable City Rules. His TED Talk on the walkable city has garnered millions of views, and he lectures widely on making places more useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting for pedestrians. In Austin, Texas, Speck has engaged directly with local efforts to promote walkability, including delivering public talks such as “Toward a More Walkable Austin” (hosted by groups like Safe Streets Austin and Downtown Austin) where he has advocated for practical changes like converting one-way streets to two-way, improving street design, and prioritizing people over cars to enhance health, economics, and quality of life in the city. His work continues to influence advocates and planners in Austin working toward a more pedestrian-friendly urban environment.