You can't adapt without surplus. Surplus DNA. Surplus farmland. Surplus building space. Surplus building materials. If you have no surplus, you have nothing with which to work, and so you have no adaptability.
There have been plenty of efficient creatures in the history of this planet—most of the extinct ones. They were not adaptable to change.
Read MoreWhat combination of increase in private investment and downsizing of public investment will give my city a private to public investment ratio of 30:1?
Read MoreIf you can create a business that provides citizens what they want – the ability to quickly and easily acquire a lot of stuff – the combined power of massive centralized government and populist appeal will be mobilized to subsidize your operation, punish your competitors through regulation and taxation and build the infrastructure needed to make you wealthy.
Read MoreYesterday was a big day for me. I didn't need to wear mitts for the first time since November, which means I can operate my camera outside for longer than 10 minutes. I will be celebrating by riding the bus out to a strange and depressing landscape of density-gone-wrong. This will be the setting for a video about density and by extension, silly apartment locations. It's an important topic, and I would love your help making an excellent script. What do you say?
Read MoreHow should we handle situations where the long-term goals of one entity--in this case the government and the city--clash with the short-term, day-to-day existence of another--small businesses?
Read MoreAs our cities go further and further into insolvency, getting cash from fines is going to become more -- not less -- prevalent.
Read MoreWe're being asked to spend tens of billions by people who can't seem to be able to do second grade math.
Read MoreStrong Towns member blogs from around the country spotlight examples of how misguided development policy undermines a community's interests. Suburban ruins in California; deadly stroads in Pennsylvania; the faulty argument in favor of keeping an urban freeway in Dallas; doing the math on land use in suburban St. Louis; asking whether local government is serving its poorest constituents in Cedar Rapids; and calling out official corruption in Sarasota.
Read MoreBefore I read the Civil + Structural Engineer article, I wasn’t an advocate of the Transportation Empowerment Act. If you are defined by your enemies, however, having hysteric members of the Infrastructure Cult line up against it makes me think it deserves a lot more attention.
#nonewroads
Read MoreA quick summary of what happened this week on the Strong Towns blog.
Read MorePredictably, the National Society of Professional Engineers, despite a weak reference to serving the public, is all about protecting its members.
Read MoreFor some reason Facebook's algorithm felt that I, a father of two chatty princesses who love books, piano and dogs, would be interested in a playset that would teach them "how to take care of a real car."
Read MoreThis is what success looks like when highway standards are applied to city streets.
Read MoreWhat does a #NoNewRoads approach look like when it turns into public policy? It would look a lot like a proposal being put forward by Idaho Democrats at their state legislature.
Read MoreThe American West is a unique and fascinating place. This week Chuck is joined by Sam Western, author, poet and correspondent for the Economist, to talk about the American West.
Read MoreIf you are a Pinterest user, take a moment and connect with us and, when we release something that resonates with you, please pin it.
Read More1) Chuck made a video appearance in Fredericton!
2) Also, I had my first experience of going door-to-door on my street.
Read MoreThe width of our streets can influence land use, safety, character, scale, and overall financial productivity. We shouldn't be fearful of building narrow when it makes sense.
Read MoreJoe Minicozzi, principal of the econometric consulting firm Urban3, challenges assumptions about land use and development. With tools like basic arithmetic, maps, and 3D visualization using ArcScene and CityEngine, he makes the case against suburban sprawl and reaffirms the value of mixed-use urban development.
Read MoreCommitting to spending billions on our current approach to transportation is not courageous; it is cowardly. It will take far more courage to stand up, admit that we don’t know what we’re doing – that we’ve actually had it wrong for some time – and chart a new course, one that uses real data and feedback (not politics) to discern spending priorities.
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