Edward Erfurt

 

Edward Erfurt is the Chief Technical Advisor at Strong Towns. He is a trained architect and passionate urban designer with over 20 years of public- and private-sector experience focused on the management, design, and successful implementation of development and placemaking projects that enrich the tapestry of place. He believes in community-focused processes that are founded on diverse viewpoints, a concern for equity, and guided through time-tested, traditional town-planning principles and development patterns that result in sustainable growth with the community character embraced by the communities which he serves.

Recent Articles by Edward
West Virginia Is the Canary in America’s Infrastructure Coal Mine
West Virginia Is the Canary in America’s Infrastructure Coal Mine

West Virginia’s $1.6 billion Road to Prosperity program was supposed to cover maintenance costs and reignite economic growth. Seven years later, the money’s gone and the situation has gotten worse.

A Tribute to Leon Krier: The Thinker Who Changed My Path
A Tribute to Leon Krier: The Thinker Who Changed My Path

Leon Krier leaves behind a generation of designers, planners, and urbanists who see the world differently because of him. I owe him more than I can put into words.

Housing Is Not a Numbers Problem—It’s a Systems Problem
Housing Is Not a Numbers Problem—It’s a Systems Problem

When we recognize the housing crisis as a systems and strategy problem, we realize that there is no shortage of things cities can do right now to address it.

1 Small House, 7 Decades of Shelter: the Legacy of a Starter Home
1 Small House, 7 Decades of Shelter: the Legacy of a Starter Home

Our housing crisis demands a return to simpler, more empowering development approaches. The same approaches that let my grandfather build a starter home that sheltered his family for 70 years.

The Rent Is Too Damn Artificial
The Rent Is Too Damn Artificial

In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice sued six of the nation’s largest landlords, accusing them of artificially inflating apartment rents. But the lawsuit reveals an even deeper problem.

Challenging the Status Quo: The Case for Celebrating Different Developments
Challenging the Status Quo: The Case for Celebrating Different Developments

When a development project dares to break the Suburban Experiment mold, it faces intense scrutiny from both opponents and advocates. Ironically, these are the very projects we should be studying — and even celebrating. Culdesac Tempe, a car-free community in Arizona, is one such project.

 
Edward ErfurtStrong TownsStaff