Price's concern is not to fight cars but to fight auto dependence. Cities are the solution. It is simply a place where things are close enough together that rubber soles transport people better than steel-belted radials do. Price answers most questions about automobiles by discussing the minutiae of architecture and urban design. Good design, Price contends, can create a public realm that is safe, inviting, and conducive to community.
Bad design creates a menacing and sterile public realm.
The West End is a model of good design, and Price is happy to show it off. On a stroll through the neighborhood, he aims his umbrella toward an intersection. Cutting it diagonally is a raised concrete planter, landscaped with trees and shrubs. Buildings far from the street create yawning, empty spaces that walkers find unwelcoming. Price looks out through the rain at the public waterfront that rings the city and comes to the crux of the matter.