Doug Farr challenged CEOs for Cities to promote his 2030 Community Challenge -- to reduce vehicle miles traveled to 1970 levels. And as Doug says, in the long term, this takes planning a community for fewer car trips. Individuals can't do it alone. I write this because this afternoon after work I take a walk. Starting at my new condo at State and Randolph (with a 98 out of 100 Walk Score), I start east toward the lake. Two blocks away, I come to Millennium Park, where there are spectacular tulip displays at the entrances. (Actually, this is tulip season in Chicago, and they are everywhere. Maggie Daley, Chicago's first lady, carried tulips at her wedding, and Chicagoans have been the beneficiaries of her choice.) As I pass Cloud Gate (or the Bean, as Chicagoans call it), blue skies and actual clouds float above the reflections of park visitors. Someone is staging a party on stage at the Gehry-designed Pritzker Pavilion, but the party-goers seem far away from the park's hub bub. As I continue south in the park, I enter the incomparable Lurie Gardens. Although my intention is a "power walk," it is impossible not to slow down in the gardens. They are Monet-like. They are, at once, dazzling and deeply calming. I spot a man and his dog playing catch in Butler Park just beyond Lurie Gardens, so I follow the ball and head that way. By the time I arrive, the dog has the ball with no intention of giving it up. I am out of luck. But in the distance, I see Buckingham Fountain. And every time I see it, I am surprised by the imagination and ambition of the men who built it. I head right to the lake, turn and head north. On my right is the lake, this endless watery mystery. (Is there a distant shore?) Ahead in the far distance is the ferris wheel on Navy Pier, reminding me of the first book I read after arriving in Chicago, Devil in the White City. On my left and ahead is the impressive city skyline framed by gray-blue clouds, streaked with pink sky. As I walk north, I break away from the lakeside path and move to the path one level up. Here, the sidewalk is framed by pink flowering trees that both smell sweet and have rose-like blossoms. Even the tree's bare branches are pink. (I think I've ruined at least three photos by families hoping to capture the moment.) I decide to walk through Daley Bicentennial Park, the site of huge civic controversy at the moment as supporters of the Children's Museum attempt to move the facility there, mostly below ground, while advocates of keeping Grant Park free and clear of structures push back against the plans. Walking through the park, I find it hard to understand what the protest is all about. This northernmost block of Grant Park is a strange jumble of tennis courts, a putt-putt golf course (yes, seriously) and a mediocre community center. I cross the Gehry bridge to re-enter Millennium Park and get another look at Lurie Gardens before heading to the neighborhood 7-11 for bananas and an ice cream sandwich (a sad excuse for a Friday night dinner). Finally, I start home. I realize that I did nothing to deserve this incredibly rich public realm, but I enjoy it enormously.