The posts below discuss some of what I learned at the CNU (Congress for New Urbanism, www.cnu.org) conference in Philadelphia.
One interesting panel dealt with the question of how to keep streets skinny and walkable while satisfying fire departments. Dan Burden noted that fire marshals generally prefer 20 feet of space to accommodate fire trucks; he suggested accommodating them through midblock curb extensions; thus, a street can be 20 feet wide for motorists, but fire trucks can find extra space in the middle of the block so they can unload bulky fire equipment. John Anderson was less optimistic, suggesting that New Urbanists may need statewide fire code reforms in order to force public works departments to accept narrower streets.
