Tristan Cleveland wrote:

Walkability has widely-known requirements: density, mixed uses, small blocks, safe streets, greenery, and pedestrian-friendly architecture. Most planners can easily recognize this list. 

It is therefore a bit odd that if a community wants to become walkable, it needs to go through a multi-year planning process to re-identify these requirements. It is strange as well that planners must rigorously consult the public on their unique local vision and goals, and then write chapter after chapter on how to address every social ill, just to implement the things that all walkable communities need. 

I propose a different approach. If a community decides to become walkable, its zoning should be replaced immediately with a set of generic state or national regulations. These rules should cover the core requirements of walkability, so that the community can focus instead on writing a smaller set of rules that address issues that are in fact local to their community (as I describe further below). Communities do not need to reinvent the building code every time they write a plan. Neither should they have to reinvent rules for walkability. 

Many planners will find this outrageous. After all, one size does not fit all. The goal, however, is not to make every community identical, but to write a simple set of rules that enables wide diversity.