Jeff Speck

Jeff Speck is a city planner and author known for his advocacy of walkable cities and urban design. As director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts, Speck presided over the Mayors' Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design. Prior to his federal appointment, Speck served as director of town planning at DPZ & Co., a principal firm in the New Urbanism movement. He leads Speck & Associates, now Speck Dempsey, an urban planning firm serving public and private clients globally.

With Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Speck co-authored "Suburban Nation," described by the Wall Street Journal as "the urbanist's bible." His book "Walkable City" is a best-selling city planning title and has been translated into multiple languages. Speck is also the principal author of "The Smart Growth Manual" and "Walkable City Rules."

Speck is a fellow of both the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Congress for New Urbanism. In a Planetizen poll, he was recognized as one of the ten most influential urbanists of all time. Speck received the Seaside Prize, joining previous recipients such as Jane Jacobs and Christopher Alexander. His TED talks and YouTube videos have garnered more than 6 million views, contributing to ongoing conversations in urban planning, walkability, and sustainable city design.