One of the beautiful things about traveling to a new city is the way it can open our eyes to the "newness" of things we'd grown accustomed to. When my wife and I visit new places, for example, we have made a habit of inspecting and comparing the pedestrian "walk" signals (or, as we like to call them, the "blinky walky men"). Some are much jauntier than others!

Activating Cities is a handbook for finding and creating that feeling of freshness, whether you're in a city for the first time or in the city you've lived in your entire life. With games, rituals, poems, and stories, bite-sized and boot-tested across the streets and sidewalks of many cities, I found this book both a delight to read and to practice. Highly recommended if you can get your hands on it!