FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Jaime Jennings, 202-232-7933x44 jjennings@islandpress.org Katharine Sucher, 202-232-7933x43 ksucher@islandpress.org
PRESS RELEASE
Within Walking Distance Creating Livable Communities for All
By Philip Langdon Washington, DC (April 30, 2017)—Walkable communities come in many shapes and sizes, yet share a capacity for bringing people together. In Within Walking Distance (Publication Date: May 16, 2017), journalist and urban critic Philip Langdon takes an in-depth look at six walkable communities—and the citizens, public officials, and planners who are making them satisfying places to live. In the book, Langdon explores walkable communities around the country that range in terms of size, history, wealth, education, and more. The six communities are: Center City Philadelphia; the East Rock section of New Haven, Connecticut; Brattleboro, Vermont; the Little Village section of Chicago; the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon; and the Cotton District in Starkville, Mississippi. From the experience of these places, Langdon draws lessons that can be applied to a range of communities across the nation. One of these lessons is the importance of local commitment. With the careful observation of a seasoned journalist, Langdon gives voice to stories of citizens coming together to improve their communities, including:
Fifteen mothers and grandmothers pitching tents and conducting a hunger strike to force the Chicago Board of Education to build a much-needed high school in their predominantly Mexican-American community; People in Brattleboro rallying around locally owned hardware stores when a big-box hardware emporium came to town—ultimately resulting in the withdrawal of the chain retailer and the survival of locally rooted stores; ISLAND PRESS | PRESS RELEASE | 1