Case Studies on our Growth Pattern
One of the most popular features of the Strong Towns Blog is when we break down the cost of a project into increments that people can relate to. Cost per household, cost per vehicle, etc... When the veil of technical jargon and funding formulas is lifted, most projects we do as a matter of routine practice in America make no sense. We have organized some of the most salient examples into one page for easy reference.
Backus Wastewater Project
A city of 123 households that are in line to receive $3.3 million in public assistance to maintain their sewer systems. That is a cost of nearly $27k per family.
Rogers Interchange
An exurban city that considers itself next in line is working to get their share of the transportation pie just as it becomes painfully evident that there is not enough money to go around. But maybe just enough for one last try.
Stillwater Bridge
A controversial $668 million bridge breeds an odd consensus when an fiercely anti-spending politician embraces a project that will cost $6 per vehicle trip and an environmental organization seemingly agrees that we need to spend large sums to shorten exurban commutes.
Tower Historic Harbor Renaissance
A small mining community seeks a "renaissance" through a massive injection of federal and state funds. Spending over $30,000 per household, Tower (pop. 498) is trying to create Northern Minnesota's version of the San Antonio Riverwalk, only without any actual redevelopment.
If you have a project that should be analyzed using a Strong Towns approach, send us the information and we'll see if we can include it in a future posting.
