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.
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After the sirens fade, the system starts to break down.
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When cities expand their boundaries, they aren’t just adding land, they’re taking on decades of financial obligations that short-term metrics fail to capture.
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Stop asking people to imagine change. Instead, let them experience it.
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Every road transfer is a promise to pay for it later.
"Outside city hall, there is great urgency. Inside city hall, everything slows down."
"Cities must give themselves permission to act like the stewards they already are."
"What we have is not a failure of vision, but one of process."
Why “growth paying for growth” often leaves cities weaker, not stronger.
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Understanding the planning “pyramid” and how commissioners can use their position to shape better outcomes.
A contentious project in Des Moines reveals a deeper issue: cities often react to proposals instead of clarifying what’s possible.
The housing people are looking for may not be what cities are built to deliver.
In its Housing-Ready City Toolkit, Strong Towns recommended a 24-hour turnaround for permits. That's not an exaggeration.