“The Strong Towns voice needs to be heard by elected and appointed officials across the US. ”
— Toby Dougherty of Hays, KS
“Strong Towns is doing some of the most important work in this country.”
— Stephen Lassiter of Tulsa, OK
“Strong Towns is a simple concept with a never-ending depth behind it.”
— Lawrence Andre of Mission, KS

Thank you to everyone who became a member this week. We can't do this without you.

See you back here on Monday when we resume our regular schedule.

Featured
How to Get Funding (and an Engaged Crowd) for Your Big Ideas
How to Get Funding (and an Engaged Crowd) for Your Big Ideas

In this episode of our podcast It’s the Little Things, Jacob chats with Bill Huston, crowdfunding legend (like, top 19 crowdfunding consultants in the world according to Inc. Magazine kind of legend). For over 15 years, Bill has helped Strong Citizens get funding for their big ideas.

Announcing a Special Celebrity Edition of "Ask Strong Towns" with Jeff Speck
Announcing a Special Celebrity Edition of "Ask Strong Towns" with Jeff Speck

Members are invited to ask their burning questions of renowned walkability expert Jeff Speck on Friday, November 9 at 12:00pm CT.

The Difference Between Mobility and Accessibility
The Difference Between Mobility and Accessibility

When we obsess over the speed of travel—whether in our cars or on public transit—we’re missing the point of transportation. It’s not about how far you can get in a given time: it’s what you can get to.

6 Strong Towns Observations From a Map of Every Building in America
6 Strong Towns Observations From a Map of Every Building in America

The New York Times has released an interactive map of (nearly) every building in America. What can we learn from it about America’s suburban experiment, through the marks it has left on the landscape?

Streets Aren’t the Only Thing That Connects Your City
Streets Aren’t the Only Thing That Connects Your City

In Akron, Ohio an alternative-news monthly called The Devil Strip serves to identify, connect and inspire people throughout the community. The newspaper helps bring Akronites together to envision and shape the city’s future.

The Roots of the Opioid Epidemic: A Conversation with Sam Quinones
The Roots of the Opioid Epidemic: A Conversation with Sam Quinones

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck talks with Sam Quinones, author of Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic. What are the origins of the unprecedented rise in narcotic addictions and deaths, and what connections, if any, are there to the way we live and build our places?

Actually, Let’s Not Set Aside Land Next to Rail Lines for Mansionization
Actually, Let’s Not Set Aside Land Next to Rail Lines for Mansionization

High home prices near many of Portland, Oregon’s rail stations are essentially mandatory. On most nearby lots, dividing the land into so much as a duplex would be illegal. If that’s not a recipe for luxury housing, what is?

Hilton Hotels' Efficiency Tradeoff
Hilton Hotels' Efficiency Tradeoff

Hilton Hotels sacrifices their customers in the name of efficiency. There is a lesson there for your city about the tradeoffs of efficiency.

Top 5 Stories from the Week (Oct 8–Oct 12, 2018)
Top 5 Stories from the Week (Oct 8–Oct 12, 2018)

This week, we explored the history of wide streets as a political project, why a successful place isn’t as simple as plopping down the right kind of buildings, how local planners find themselves hostage to decades-old “lines on paper”, the power of placemaking and art to bring a downtown back to life, misconceptions about what causes traffic congestion, and more.

Opportunity Zones, But for Whom?
Opportunity Zones, But for Whom?

In this week’s Upzoned podcast, Kea and Chuck discuss the new federal Opportunity Zones program. Is a big bucket of money what disinvested neighborhoods need? Or is using a federal program to develop a neighborhood like steering an ocean liner with a canoe paddle?

Reflections on the Strong Towns North Texas Regional Gathering
Reflections on the Strong Towns North Texas Regional Gathering

Our Gathering Coordinator Ivy Vann recaps #StrongTownsNTX, the North Texas Regional Gathering. We brought together aspiring change-makers and seasoned experts from all over Texas and beyond, and helped them connect with each other and learn how to make their own communities stronger.

The Good and Bad of a Proposed Minimum-Density Housing Bill in Washington State
The Good and Bad of a Proposed Minimum-Density Housing Bill in Washington State

A proposed bill in Washington State would require cities to allow a minimum housing density near transit stations. It is a well-intentioned response to a very real problem, but its one-size-fits-all nature risks unintended consequences.

Are Beautiful Cars Responsible for Our Overbuilt Roads?
Are Beautiful Cars Responsible for Our Overbuilt Roads?

How much of car culture is attributable to the early designers and marketers who figured out how to make cars stylish and beautiful? A new book profiles GM’s Harley Earl, one of the forerunners of America’s automotive obsession.

Could Immigrants Play a Role in Strengthening Your Town?
Could Immigrants Play a Role in Strengthening Your Town?

Across the Rust Belt and Midwest, immigrant entrepreneurs and residents are helping to mitigate the financial challenges faced by declining and shrinking cities.

How Self-Proclaimed Urbanists Can Make Our Towns Stronger
How Self-Proclaimed Urbanists Can Make Our Towns Stronger

In this episode of our podcast It’s the Little Things, Jacob chats with Alissa Walker, urbanism editor at Curbed, about how you don’t have to be a professional urban designer to have an impact on the built environment. Documenting your own observations can capture the attention of your peers and inspire much-needed improvements to the livability of your city.

Novelty Colonies: Demerits and Distinctions
Novelty Colonies: Demerits and Distinctions

Novelty Colonies are unusual, themed settlements that promise the resident an alternative to the vinyl-sided raised ranch houses of suburbia. However, the charm of these settlements is superficial, and the good ideas they do offer would be better incorporated into our existing towns.

64.6 Brings a Community Together in Revitalized Downtown Fort Smith
64.6 Brings a Community Together in Revitalized Downtown Fort Smith

A nonprofit placemaking organization is bringing events, parks, public art and more to downtown Fort Smith, Arkansas, one playful experiment at a time.

The Failure of "Just Add Water" Urbanism
The Failure of "Just Add Water" Urbanism

To assume that a street-forward, mixed use development will activate a lifeless area is like assuming that gardening is a matter of “just add water.” In reality, different urban environments—like different soils, climates, and plants—require different elements of care.

Transforming Akron's Public Schools
Transforming Akron's Public Schools

Can stronger schools help a city grappling with an identity crisis get residents to put down roots? In Akron, Ohio, another transformation, driven not by celebrity philanthropy but by local partnerships, is sweeping through the school system.

Democratizing Local Public Finance by Bringing Back Small-Scale Investors
Democratizing Local Public Finance by Bringing Back Small-Scale Investors

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck talks with Jase Wilson, the founder and CEO of Neighborly, about bringing small-scale investors back to the municipal bond market, empowering people to invest in the real, observed needs of communities they care about.

Wide Streets as a Tool of Oppression
Wide Streets as a Tool of Oppression

Wide, straight, monumental streets have always served the interests of those in power. They allow for the mobilization of military force, subordinate the unplanned chaos of the city to grandiose visions, and have been used to dispossess and displace small businesses, the poor, and racial and political minorities.

The Inertia of Lines on Paper
The Inertia of Lines on Paper

Decades ago, we decided where roads will go. Whether it makes sense or not today, that is where they must go.

We Should Celebrate Our Failures Too
We Should Celebrate Our Failures Too

Do we need to fail in order to succeed? When our experiments go awry—in science or otherwise—should we be dismayed, or treat it as just as vital information as if our hypotheses had been confirmed? Check out the latest episode of our new podcast Upzoned to hear Kea Wilson and Chuck Marohn wax philosophical about failure.