The “one size fits all” suburban American dream is no longer enough for those who are looking to live in healthy, walkable communities. In the Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream, Brookings Institution fellow Chris Leinberger explains why there is pent-up demand for walkable urbanism, and how the real estate and financial communities need to adapt to meet this growing need.

The effects of drivable suburbanism have begun to take their toll on our health and environment, with driving and long commutes being linked to an increased rate of obesity and higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

While federal policies and the desire for the suburban American Dream encouraged financers and real estate developers to invest in sparse, drivable suburban development, the movement towards concentrated, mixed-use neighborhoods has started sweeping across the United States.

The Option of Urbanism demystifies walkable urbanism, and points to examples of how unused strip malls and brownfield sites have been transformed into walkable communities. As described in the book, Birmingham, a suburb of “Motor City” Detroit, is a remarkably unexpected case study of walkable urbanism. The author also points to virbrant walkable cities like Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia and many more.

The American dream, as defined by white picket fences and two-car garages, is not yet a phenomenon of the past. But, Leinberger argues, Americans should have the option to choose between drivable sub-urbanism and walkable urbanism, and need to understand the positive and negative impacts of both.