Have you been to Italy? If not, drop everything and go right now! Just pick a city, any city! I was fortunate to spend Labor Day week in Torino with four students (a fitting end to my car-free summer!). Italian cities - especially their historic cores - are excellent examples of the "5x8" principle. We walked (and walked!), rode the bus metro system, and I was fortunate enough to have access to TO Bike - Torino's excellent bike share system. Just tap your card on the sensor and go! Much easier than Boston and London (2 other urban bike share systems that I have experienced).Of course, the experience is about more than just overall scale - it is street width, massing, height, detail at an urban scale, etc. And a deeply ingrained culture of movement...
