With summer upon us in just a few days, many Toole Design staff are looking forward to putting their noses in a good book for a few days at the beach, in the mountains, or by the pool. We asked our technical staff to recommend a few of their favorite transportation reads. Check out the list and pick up a title or two for your reading pleasure this summer.
“The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York” by Robert A. Caro
Recommended by: Craig Schoenberg P.E., Engineer, Seattle Office
“Robert Moses was an arresting figure, and it’s worth reading just to learn about him. He popularized massive inner-city highway expansion in NYC, which became a model for other large cities in the United States and Canada. His policies and legacy are the very things we are trying to address through our work. Reading the book, you are both in awe and a state of disgust at what he was able to accomplish.”
“Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)” by Tom Vanderbilt
Recommended by Lisa Enns, Engineer, Seattle Office
“This book highlights the psychological aspect of traffic, in addition to the engineering that we are familiar with.”
“Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places” – by John Stilgoe
Recommended by Jess Zdeb, AICP, Project Planner, Portland Office
“This book helps teach you how to be observant. As professionals, we need to know how to read a street or a landscape. But even more importantly, as humans can learn what our real surroundings tell us and get our noses out of the virtual world.”
“Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Recommended by Andy Clarke, Director of Strategy, DC Office
“Decisive helps you understand how people (especially you) make decisions and how flawed that process is, especially in a world where we can so easily find information that supports our world view. It’s an entertaining read with lots of great examples and stories, and it offers advice and strategies for improving your own decision-making process, as well as understanding how others reached their own conclusions.”
“Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution” by Janette Sadik-Kahn & Seth Solomonow
Recommended by Nick Schmidt, AICP, Project Planner, Boston Office
“Streets aren’t set in stone. We can change them!”
