Editor's Note: The challenges our cities face are growing, but so is the strength of this movement. Member Week reminds us that every story we share, every idea we spread, and every tool we build exists because people like you are committed to showing up. Your membership isn’t passive—it’s the momentum that makes change possible.
When I first discovered Strong Towns, it was like someone handed me a diagnostic manual. For the first time, I could see why my city felt fragile, why our streets were unsafe, and why our budgets never seemed to add up. But here is the thing: that map is only useful if people pick it up and walk with it. That is what our members are doing. They are not just reading the story of Strong Towns—they are living it. And this week, during Member Week, we are celebrating how far this story has come.
Every member plays a part in the plot. Some are the pioneers, taking the message into council chambers. Others are the steady supporters who make the work possible month after month. Together, they form the movement that keeps this story moving forward. Membership is not about perks or access. It is about saying, “I am part of this story. I believe in where it is going.” Each new member helps write the next chapter.
I meet people every week who remind me why this story matters. Over the last several months, I have met high school students from Florida, Ohio, and Ontario who have each joined one of our leader onboarding calls. They are boldly venturing into the world of starting Local Conversation groups with youthful insight and optimism. They don’t just want to meet with their fellow students. They want to be in and for their entire communities. From the very beginning, they are focused on building a team and planning for the long haul. These students see what many adults miss: that local change does not begin with permission or credentials. It begins with ownership.
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Then there are members like a retired city engineer from Colorado Springs who joined one of our sessions earlier this year. He spent decades trying to solve local infrastructure problems, often running into the limits of rigid standards that were designed for somewhere else. Now, in retirement, he is reflecting deeply on what worked, what did not, and what could be done differently. He speaks with humility and conviction about the importance of local context, about working at a human scale, and about the satisfaction of seeing even small victories make a difference for real people. Listening to him, I am reminded that the Strong Towns movement is not a trend. It is a course correction that many professionals have been longing for all their lives.
And then there is Brandi Thompson, an emergency nurse from Albuquerque who flies with her team in helicopters to respond to accidents and emergencies. She has seen firsthand what happens when places are built for speed instead of people. But what makes Brandi remarkable is how she approaches conflict in her community as a co-leader of Strong Towns Albuquerque. When people hurled accusations online at her local Strong Towns group, she did not retreat or fire back. She reached out and invited them for coffee. She sat across the table, listened, and found common ground. That is the kind of leadership that defines this movement! It’s not about shouting louder but showing up, listening, and rebuilding trust where others see division.
When you join Strong Towns, you are not buying something. You are saying your neighborhood deserves a future. You are saying this movement’s work should continue. That is what makes Strong Towns special. We are independent because people like you have chosen to take ownership of this story. We can tell hard truths because you trust us to. We can focus on what matters because you have our back.
This year, more people than ever have joined that story. They are helping us build tools that change how cities make decisions. They are helping us reach more communities. They are helping us prove that small steps, taken by ordinary people, really can transform a place. And that is why Member Week matters. Because the more people who step into this story, the stronger it becomes.
If you are already part of this, thank you for being in the story with us. And if you are not, now is the time to join. Because the future of your city is still being written, and your voice deserves to be in the story.
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