City Walks New York

Los Angeles-based writer Alissa Walker (whose last name could as easily be a vocational title) is a great advocate of getting around on foot. She is the author of a newly released collection of architectural walking tours of New York City, published by Chronicle Books as part of their City Walks series (as well a Dwell contributor and creator of the blog-cum-brand Gelatobaby).

The tour guide is designed as a deck of 25 individual, pocket-size cards, making it easy to embark on a street hike unfettered by the weight of a book. Each card features a map, some architectural history of the area, and modern-day commentary on each destination, which range from the gleaming "green" skyscrapers of Manhattan to the well-aged row houses of Harlem.

Below, Alissa answers a few questions about how she compiled this custom pack of urban treks and what kind of footwear preserves both sanity and vanity while walking in New York City.