Cities and communities beyond COVID-19. How local leadership can change our future for the better

good for people, which is at odds with ‘epistemological skepticism and moral relativism’ of academia (226). The validity of the ‘natural law’ claim is also supported through illustrations, which take up a third of the book. Various transects from different locations and of various scales cover typical urban design topics: density, architecture, facades, and walkability/mobility, as well as speed limit, fencing, and governance. The illustrations reinforce the idea of a self-evident rationale behind the Transect, operating across scales, from regional planning to architectural detail. Although the Transect is presented as bridging urban/rural and cultural/natural divides, it is, without a doubt, urban and human-focused. The book even takes occasional aim at landscape urbanism, regarding it as an ‘incubator of metaphor’ and rather oblivious to urban processes. In ‘Post-suburban Planning’ (127–156), Duany and Brain express their frustration with planning and design approaches that give ultimate privilege to nature over anything else. They find it deeply problematic that, for example, constructions of a road could stop immediately if a certain endangered species is found, while entire communities could be moved to accommodate the same road. Transect Urbanism may not significantly alter anyone’s opinion New Urbanism, but it is a worthy volume on practically oriented New Urbanism theories of land-use planning based on form-based urban coding.