Andrew Price

Andrew Price (Twitter: @AndrewAPrice) has been a regular contributor to Strong Towns since 2013 and is a founding member of the organization. Andrew is a software developer by day and an urbanist by night. He is passionate about traditional urbanism – he believes in fine-grained, highly walkable places that are built for people. He grew up in Australia and now lives in the United States with his wife. Andrew is a regular contributor on Strong Towns and runs his own blog, andrewalexanderprice.com. You can find many of his photographs throughout the Strong Towns website. Andrew’s motivation to be involved in Strong Towns and urbanism is to create a great place that he and his wife, and one day their children and their future generations will want to call home.

 
RECENT ARTICLES BY ANDREW:
Engineers Should Not Design Streets: A Programmer's Take
Engineers Should Not Design Streets: A Programmer's Take

Software engineers don’t design user interface, so why do we let civil engineers design streets?

How to Fight Those "Boxy Buildings"
How to Fight Those "Boxy Buildings"

A guide for making your urban spaces more fine-grained.

The Scar of Modern Urban Planning
The Scar of Modern Urban Planning

Decades into the Suburban Experiment, many towns and cities have precious few old buildings left. Those that remain could be adapted to new uses—but cities are making that hard.

Lessons from the Streets of Tokyo
Lessons from the Streets of Tokyo

An urbanist abroad discovers that Tokyo faces many of the same challenges as U.S. cities — off-street parking, pedestrian safety, utilizing space, etc. — but is addressing them in very different ways.

The Problem with Helicopter Urbanism
The Problem with Helicopter Urbanism

It is important when we design a building or a neighborhood to look at how it feels and interacts with the street. Too often, new development feels designed from a helicopter’s-eye-view.

Best of 2018: What Does Incrementalism Actually Mean?
Best of 2018: What Does Incrementalism Actually Mean?

Incremental approaches are often cheaper, faster, or have less risk than sudden approaches. Let’s explore different types of incrementalism.

Aiming for Imperfection
Aiming for Imperfection

When we aim for perfection, imperfections will disturb us. But, when we aim for imperfection, other imperfections build character.

The Causes of Traffic and Congestion
The Causes of Traffic and Congestion

Will this new development make traffic worse? The conventional wisdom about the relationship between development and traffic contains a number of important misconceptions.

What Does Incrementalism Actually Mean?
What Does Incrementalism Actually Mean?

Incremental approaches are often cheaper, faster, or have less risk than sudden approaches. Let’s explore different types of incrementalism.

What Makes A Place Walkable
What Makes A Place Walkable

Walkability is a word urbanists throw around, often with different ideas as to what it really means, or why we care about it. Let’s take a look at how safety, distance, convenience, and comfort affect it.

The Case for Small Commercial Spaces
The Case for Small Commercial Spaces

When large storefronts sit empty for years, holding out for the perfect big tenant, while small businesses can’t find space to rent, we’ve got a serious problem.

The Living City vs. The Mechanical City
The Living City vs. The Mechanical City

A city is a living organism, and we should tend to it as such. A city dies when it is treated as, and functions, as a machine.

A Brief History of Setbacks
A Brief History of Setbacks

If you want to understand housing affordability and transportation issues, start with setbacks.

You Don't Need Transit to Build a Walkable Place
You Don't Need Transit to Build a Walkable Place

Transit is not a prerequisite for making a decent people-oriented neighborhood.

We Need Complete Neighborhoods
We Need Complete Neighborhoods

A Complete Neighborhood is one where, outside of commuting to work or spending a night out, you can get everything you need within walking distance.

Surprising Approaches To Achieving Density
Surprising Approaches To Achieving Density

We can build compact, walkable cities in an adaptable and economically inclusive manner — no high-rise towers needed.

Cities as Platforms of Productivity
Cities as Platforms of Productivity

Cities are filled with talent, ideas, and hardworking people. We just need to provide them with the platform to be productive.

The Negative Consequences of Car Dependency
The Negative Consequences of Car Dependency

Auto-oriented towns experience serious challenges that negatively impact small businesses, community health, and financial success for everyone.

Fine-Grained vs. Coarse-Grained Urbanism
Fine-Grained vs. Coarse-Grained Urbanism

There's a big difference between these two types of development and one will create a far better outcome for our cities.

The Problem with Setbacks
The Problem with Setbacks

Setback requirements waste valuable land and encourage its consolidation into the hands of a few instead of many.

A Simple Guide to Architectural Rendering
A Simple Guide to Architectural Rendering

Is there an empty lot in your neighborhood you dream of filling? Use these simple steps to sketch, model and render a new building in the space.

The problem with forcing developers to provide open space
The problem with forcing developers to provide open space

When we force private developers to provide "open space," they typically do a mediocre job of it.

Why greenspace is different from a park
Why greenspace is different from a park

Greenspace is not the same as a park. This example from Jersey City, NJ shows you why that's the case and how to build better parks in the process.

What if cities purchased those big lots and sold them to small-scale developers?
What if cities purchased those big lots and sold them to small-scale developers?

If big developers keep snatching up huge plots of land in my city, I may never own a home. But if land is sold in smaller increments, that means more opportunities for small developers and home owners.

Cities as Platforms of Productivity
Cities as Platforms of Productivity

Cities are filled with talent, ideas, and hardworking people. We just need to provide them with the platform to be productive.

Historic Preservation - Treating the Symptom Instead of the Cause
Historic Preservation - Treating the Symptom Instead of the Cause

Historic preservation is often used to prevent something being replaced by something worse, but are we focusing on the symptom or the cause?

Best of 2016: Small Bets
Best of 2016: Small Bets

Every city should be looking at the low hanging fruit they can use to continually improve themselves.

Rethinking Parking as Infrastructure
Rethinking Parking as Infrastructure

Let's rethink parking as communal infrastructure rather than private property.

Washington Street Fantasy Redesign
Washington Street Fantasy Redesign

What would a main street look like if we designed it first and foremost for people?

Book Interview: Andrew Price and Granularity
Book Interview: Andrew Price and Granularity

In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with Andrew Price, a Strong Towns contributor who wrote two essays for our new book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II.

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