Inside Eden Center: What a Strip Mall Can Be

We’ve explored the outside of Fairfax County’s Eden Center before, but what does the inside of this surprisingly fine-grained strip mall look like?

The Taco Truck and the Thrift Store

We glorify our country’s rough-and-tumble entrepreneurial history, yet we often look down on people who embody it today, and on the commercial landscapes that result.

Inefficient, But Smart

Comparing the process of furnishing two apartments—one in Ecuador, the other in the U.S.—was a reminder: order and efficiency aren't always what they're cracked up to be.

Herriges, #ChaoticButSmart, Big Box Stores, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 29, 2020efficiency, Chaotic but Smart, Quito

Much Ado About "Mobile Merchants"

A street cart, food truck, or pop-up stall is the lowest possible bar to entry for an entrepreneur with a dream. As this kind of retail blossoms in our cities, let’s make sure we don’t kill the golden goose by imposing too much order on a phenomenon that thrives on a little bit of chaos.

Best of 2019: Why Urban Design Should Come From the Bottom Up (Part 1)

Professional planners are trained to yearn for tighter urban design controls, as if cities without comprehensive, top-down planning would devolve into chaos and disorder. In reality, cities evolve according to mechanisms that allow us to gradually discover optimal urban design across time.

The Unlikely Urbanism of a Flea Market

This place is a work horse. It grows small businesses from scratch without recourse to bank loans or government subsidies. It provides products and experiences that are genuinely needed in the community. And it costs almost nothing to create.

5 Ways To Make the Missing Middle Less Missing

Missing Middle development—anything from a duplex to a cottage court to a small apartment building—is an indispensable piece of the Strong Towns vision for cities that are resilient, adaptable, and can pay their bills. We need to revive a culture of building this way: here are 5 ways cities can start.

What's Missing From the Green New Deal

The proposed Green New Deal is ambitious and urgent—but completely omits any mention of local land use. Can sweeping federal policy mix with the kind of decentralized, bottom-up change we need?

Herriges, #ChaoticButSmart, Taking Action, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesFebruary 8, 2019ecology, Steve Mouzon, Climate Change, federal funding

Legalizing More Homes: It Matters How You Do It

We need to solve our housing affordability problems, but not by ignoring context and embracing “orderly but dumb” means.

Housing, Herriges, #ChaoticButSmart, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 23, 2019incrementalism, Housing Crisis, page highlight

Why Urban Design Should Come From the Bottom Up (Part 1)

Professional planners are trained to yearn for tighter urban design controls, as if cities without comprehensive, top-down planning would devolve into chaos and disorder. In reality, cities evolve according to mechanisms that allow us to gradually discover optimal urban design across time.

#ChaoticButSmart, Gray, Urban Design, Top StoryNolan GrayJanuary 15, 2019granularity, page highlight, traditional development pattern

Growth and the Fallacy of Control

The pitfalls of rapid growth are real. But trying to micromanage how, where, and even if our cities are allowed to grow is not the answer.

Herriges, Top Story, #ChaoticButSmartDaniel HerrigesJanuary 9, 2019growth, development, Florida

Using Native Species in Urban Landscaping

Nature is the original chaotic but smart designer. By landscaping our urban spaces with native plants, we can realize cost savings, improve quality of life, and achieve ecological benefits.

#ChaoticButSmart, Top StoryFawn HoenerJanuary 3, 2019Gardening, environment, ecology

Unconventional Wisdom on Activating a Downtown

What does it take to bring life back to a faded downtown? Contrary to conventional wisdom, big employers may underperform as revitalization engines, and small-bet approaches—improvisational, innovative, and low-risk—can deliver outsize rewards.

Our streets are an emergency situation for cyclists. Why should we fix them incrementally?

The smallest step might actually be the smartest one.

#ChaoticButSmart, Bikeability, WIlson, Tactical Urbanism, Top StoryKea WilsonJuly 26, 2018bike share

Let's Do This First

We earn the right to do big things by doing the little things well.

Marohn, Tactical Urbanism, #ChaoticButSmartCharles MarohnJuly 2, 2018revitalization, page highlight

The Via Negativa of Building Strong Towns

We must work to reduce the negative impacts on our cities and towns before we try the next trendy planning intervention to solve our problems.

Top Story, Gardner, #ChaoticButSmartSpencer GardnerMay 30, 2018Nassim Taleb

We're not dumber than our ancestors, we just have power tools

Our ancestors had the same impulse toward big, risky projects, but today we have the tools to amplify that impulse to even more dangerous proportions.

#ChaoticButSmart, GardnerSpencer GardnerMarch 6, 2018history

Why we Need Messy Cities

In order to get back to building the kinds of places we love the most, we have to embrace the messy, unpredictable and always-changing nature of life.

Member Post, Urban Design, #ChaoticButSmartKevin KlinkenbergFebruary 27, 2018

Mixed Up Priorities for Mixed-Use Buildings

Strong, financially resilient neighborhoods emerge organically. Requiring one particular style of construction because we've see it work in other neighborhoods will not achieve this goal.