When someone walks along a street, they’re gone in a moment. But when they sit down to a meal, they might be there for an hour or more. Because of this, the sidewalk cafe is the most powerful tool to enhance people’s desire to walk in a place.

Authenticity seems impossible today, with places and buildings that look like they could be anywhere, lacking harmony with nature and local culture. But designers can achieve authenticity through effective principles, and a dozen of them are listed here.

Providence in Huntsville looks like many other traditional neighborhood developments, but it also boasts three times the number of jobs as residences. How did it accomplish that and other seemingly impossible tasks?