Aspiration Projects Are Great...Until the Shine Wears Off

New facilities aren’t bad, but they do present a problem when we can’t afford to maintain them after they’re built.

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward Erfurt and Lindsey BeckworthMarch 22, 2024maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, Parks and Recreation, budget, community action lab, Community Action Lab

5 Reasons Why We Should End Highway Expansion

We have to end highway expansion and focus on projects that actually build wealth in our cities. If you’re not convinced, then read on.

Top StorySeairra JonesMarch 15, 2024end highway expansion, highways, highway spending, infrastructure cost, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance

America *Must* End Highway Expansions

Until we have a credible plan for maintaining our existing transportation infrastructure, we must stop building more roads and bridges. Period.

Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 15, 2024highways, highway spending, transportation, transportation spending, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, freeways, freeway widening

Sweat the Small Stuff

Your city’s long-term resilience requires paying attention to the little things.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedMarch 7, 2023maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, public investment, little bets, infrastructure, public space, small bets

A New Tool to Calculate the Lifecycle of Infrastructure

Calculating the 100-year lifecycle costs of new development shouldn’t be an obscure process, and the province of British Columbia, Canada, has created a tool to help its communities do exactly that.

Top StorySeairra JonesFebruary 23, 2023infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, Incremental Housing, canada, development pattern, development

The Largest Mistake of Our Generation

The proposed annual budget for Winnipeg, MB, reveals the true cost of the Suburban Experiment, and the vibrancy that the city (and so many others like it) has sacrificed in many of its neighborhoods.

Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodFebruary 22, 2023suburban experiment, canada, suburban development pattern, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, budget, finance, public finance, transportation, transportation spending, transparent local accounting, growth ponzi scheme

What’s Behind PBOT’s $4.4 Billion Street Maintenance Backlog Excuse?

The maintenance backlog excuse should not be the end of the conversation—it should be the start of a new one.

Top StoryJonathan MausFebruary 2, 2023maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, street repair, transparent local accounting, safe and productive streets, oregon

Your City May Be Illegally Assessing You for Routine Infrastructure Maintenance

Part of having transparent local accounting is ensuring that the people living in a community know and understand the public costs associated with their homes and businesses. Right now, that isn’t the case in most places.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnNovember 28, 2022public finance, maintenance, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, infrastructure maintenance, financial solvency, transparent local accounting, local economy

The Impact of Systemic Racism on Jackson's Water Crisis

Strong Towns member and former Jackson, MS, resident Amanda Lanata comes to the Strong Towns Podcast to discuss the role that racism played in the city’s recent water crisis.

Podcast, Marohn, Top StoryStrong TownsNovember 21, 2022podcast, water, infrastructure maintenance, race, mississippi, infrastructure

What Does $106 Million Get You in Maine? A Redundant Highway Expansion That Nobody Wants.

Maine residents want road maintenance. MaineDOT is giving them more roads.

NewsSeairra JonesNovember 8, 2022Nero Project, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, highways, highway spending, transportation, transportation spending, Maine, maintenance, end highway expansion

Water System Crises and Solutions

What are the origins of our current water systems, and how should we think about them, going forward?

Podcast, Marohn, Top StoryStrong TownsNovember 7, 2022podcast, water, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, history

That's Not an Improvement

Engineers who work on municipal infrastructure need to stop ubiquitously describing their projects as “improvements”—especially when the project is actually harmful, not helpful.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnOctober 10, 2022traffic engineering, engineers, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, transportation, transportation spending, freeway widening, end highway expansion, safe and productive streets

Financial Fragility Is To Blame for Jackson’s Water Crisis

The Suburban Experiment is a bad business model, and nothing demonstrates that more clearly than Jackson, Mississippi’s, ongoing water crisis.

MarohnCharles MarohnSeptember 12, 2022infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, fragility, mississippi, development pattern, infrastructure cost, finance, suburban experiment, local economy, growth ponzi scheme

Our On Again, Off Again, Infrastructure Future

Frequent power outages in California give pause to reflect on the overall fragility of our built environment.

Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoAugust 26, 2022climate, Climate Change, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, wildfire, california

America *Must* End Highway Expansions

Until we have a credible plan for maintaining our existing transportation infrastructure, we must stop building more roads and bridges. Period.

Top StoryStrong TownsJune 7, 2022highways, highway spending, transportation, transportation spending, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure bill, maintenance, freeways, freeway widening, end highway expansion, member week

Fixing the Potholes Requires Digging Deeper

When it comes to our places’ roads, we need to start asking: “How much is this gonna cost us?”

Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodJune 2, 2022infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, canada, member story, transparent local accounting

When Libertarians Support Highway Expansions

A recent Reason Foundation newsletter thinks that Strong Towns is against all highways. We’re not. We’re against all highway expansion—and you should be, too.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 16, 2022infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, highways, freeway widening, freeways, politics, end highway expansion

A Minnesota Judge Throws the Book at Immoral Tax Assessments

This case shows why local governments need to do a better job accounting for maintenance costs.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 9, 2022maintenance, finance, municipal finance, Assessments, local government, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, Law, minnesota, local economy

How to Make the Best Use of Funding for Infrastructure Projects

The infrastructure avalanche is coming… Is your town prepared?

Top StoryStrong TownsMay 5, 2022infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure bill, how to, Local-Motive Tour

Sowing Our Roads with Salt Is No Way to Grow Stronger Towns

Because we depend so heavily on cars, what happens when roads become too icy to drive on? The answer: road salt. But there are serious consequences to relying on salt for road-clearing.

Top StorySeairra JonesFebruary 23, 2022car dependency, auto-oriented, car culture, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, infrastructure cost, environment, snow, maintenance, transportation, roads, end highway expansion

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