Do Things Need To Burn for New Things To Grow?

For a city to be “antifragile,” to bounce back from disaster and disruption stronger than it was before, it needs to embrace the lessons of healthy ecological systems.

Urban Renewal, Top StorySeth ZerenFebruary 10, 2023Urban Renewal, history, History, California

Has Statewide Upzoning Failed To Unlock Housing Production in California?

In 2021, California passed Senate Bill 9, ending exclusive single-family zoning. The first numbers have come in on this new law’s impact, and...they're not large numbers. But here's why that's not surprising (nor a cause for alarm).

Herriges, Incremental Housing, News, TrendingDaniel HerrigesFebruary 8, 2023Incremental Housing, housing, housing activism, housing crisis, zoning, California, Housing, housing affordability, housing policy, single-family

New Tools To Visualize How Your City Could Benefit From Incremental Development

The American Enterprise Institute has released some impressive—and free—data tools for understanding housing markets and development potential. And as a bonus, attend their upcoming talks if you’re in California!

Herriges, Housing, Incrementalism, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesSeptember 16, 2022housing, housing crisis, incrementalism, incremental development, incremental, Incremental Housing, Housing Crisis, walkability, California, events, event, maps

L.A. Continues Delaying Infrastructure That Could Save Lives

Everyone who uses streets would benefit from L.A.’s mobility plan…if only the city would actually implement it.

Our On Again, Off Again, Infrastructure Future

Frequent power outages in California give pause to reflect on the overall fragility of our built environment.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoAugust 26, 2022California, wildfires, climate, Climate Change, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, Maintenance, Granola Shotgun

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Helping More People Get Out and Bike!

Strong Towns member Ari Feinsmith is making streets safer in his California town, hosting free bike repair events and more.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Membership, Member Profiles, Bikeability, Success StoryStrong TownsJuly 21, 2022Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, California, biking, bike parking, bicycling

San José Joins in the Push To Abolish Parking Minimums

San José adds itself to the list of cities that are doing away with harmful parking minimums!

Parking, Success Story, Top StoryDaniela CastañedaJuly 15, 2022Parking, parking minimums, parking, minimum parking requirements, End Parking Mandates and Subsidies, parking landing page, California, city council, transportation, success, success stories

High Water Victorians, Roosevelt Corner Shops, and Hipster Legos

This walking tour in Sacramento, CA, reveals much about its past and present challenges with housing.

Housing, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoApril 18, 2022California, housing, Housing, housing affordability, housing market, missing middle, Development, affordable housing, neighborhood, Neighborhoods

Can a Houstonian Approach to Homelessness Work in L.A.?

L.A. is facing an increasing problem with homelessness. Can it learn something from the efforts of another large Sunbelt city?

Upzoned, Podcast, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 9, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, homelessness, Homelessness, Homeownership, Los Angeles, Houston, California, Texas, housing, Housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis

"We Require WAY Too Much Parking"

This Strong Towns member saw a huge problem with the parking minimums in his city—and decided to do something about it.

The "Lickety Splits": Working Around High Housing Costs in California

Small-scale developer Johnny Sanphillippo shares tales of Californians employing simple, low-cost, high-yield measures to get by amidst the housing crisis.

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoFebruary 25, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, affordable housing, California, Granola Shotgun, homelessness, Homelessness

Monopoly Hotels and Missing Middle Housing

In Monopoly, there are only two types of real estate: houses and hotels. But were hotels understood differently in 1904, when the game was first created?

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoFebruary 18, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, history, History, missing middle, affordable housing, San Francisco, California, Granola Shotgun

Forget What You Know About Public Engagement

It’s no secret that the conventional process for public engagement in urban planning is broken. So, what should we be doing, instead?

Engagement, Planning Profession, Urban Design, Top StoryJames Rojas and John KampFebruary 2, 2022public engagement, planning process, urban planning, books, urban design, California

No Insurance for Wildfire-Prone California

Insurers think they have the answer to California’s most wildfire-prone areas: get people to stop living there.

Upzoned, Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 26, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing crisis, California, wildfires, natural disasters, disasters

State and Local Policy Tensions Focus Zoning Reforms

Let’s step back and evaluate the status of some recent, high-profile zoning reforms.

Housing, Zoning, Top StoryTheo Mackey PollackJanuary 25, 2022housing, housing crisis, housing affordability, zoning, upzoning, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Oregon, California

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...an Interdisciplinary and Incremental Leader

Andrea Marr is an engineer, a Strong Towns member, and the mayor pro tem for Costa Mesa, CA.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Engineering Profession, Local Government, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 13, 2022The Bottom-Up Revolution, taking action, California, engineering profession, city council

The Carpetbagger’s Guide to Home Ownership

Johnny Sanphillippo takes a break from writing about his current real-estate activities to talk about how he first bought property when he was younger and infinitely poorer.

Housing, Member Post, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJanuary 11, 2022housing cost, housing affordability, Homeownership, homeowners, housing, Granola Shotgun, California, San Francisco

Zoning Desire Paths

Just as kids ignore sidewalks in favor of walking a more efficient path through the grass, homeowners in California are voting with their toolbelts to create zoning desire paths.

Housing, Zoning, Top Story, StangeJay StangeJanuary 7, 2022zoning, housing cost, housing affordability, housing, housing crisis, Housing, ADUs, single-family, multi-family, California, suburban experiment, suburbs

California's SB 9: A Slow Reversion to the Historic Mean

California's Senate Bill 9 has sparked controversy, mainly among owners of single-family homes. But are we returning to historic forms of housing anyway, with or without state legislation?