Colorado Housing Bill Targets Local Zoning, Spurs City-State Standoff

Colorado's governor is backing an ambitious plan to address the state’s housing, in a bill similar to ones passed in California and Oregon, and proposed in other states.

Incremental Housing, Top StoryBen AbramsonApril 11, 2023colorado, state government, local government, zoning, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing activism, affordable housing, accessory dwelling units, ADUs, Law, Land Use, Incremental Housing

Denver Residents Won’t Be Satisfied Until I-25 Ramp Project Is Officially Canceled

The Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has expressed interest in abandoning a controversial infrastructure project, but residents are wary of celebrating too soon.

End Highway Expansion, News, Top StoryAsia MieleszkoMarch 16, 2023End Highway Expansion, highways, colorado, freeway widening, Infrastructure, Safe and Productive Streets

Colorado Development Scheme Yields Billion-Dollar Debt

The town council in Castle Rock, CO, received a shocking briefing at a recent meeting: that their single, mid-sized region within a single, mid-sized state has accrued almost a billion dollars of debt. But how?

Transparent Accounting, News, Top StoryBen AbramsonFebruary 22, 2023colorado, debt, Municipal Debt, Infrastructure, Ponzi Scheme, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Transparent Local Accounting, finance, suburban development pattern

Roundabout Woes in North Denver

Design flaws in these Denver roundabouts are undermining their potential as tools for calming traffic.

Sheppard, Safe & Productive Streets, Transportation, Top StorySeairra SheppardJanuary 11, 2023Roundabouts, Safe and Productive Streets, Safety, safety, traffic engineering, colorado, transportation

Homeowners Struggling to Get Insurance in Wildfire-Prone Colorado

Insurance companies are starting to become wary of wildfire-prone areas of Colorado, leaving homeowners without enough funds to rebuild after a disaster occurs.

Podcast, Upzoned, Top StoryStrong TownsDecember 7, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, wildfires, colorado, homeowners, Homeownership, disasters, natural disasters

CDOT Leads the Way in Not Building Highways

Traffic headaches in Denver, CO, have caused the state to realize that widening highways just isn’t working, anymore. Instead, Colorado is making a huge shift in its transportation priorities.

#NoNewRoads, Infrastructure, Sheppard, Success Story, Transportation, Top Story, End Highway ExpansionSeairra SheppardOctober 25, 2022success, success stories, colorado, Denver, transportation, Infrastructure, infrastructure, local government, End Highway Expansion

Freeway-Fighting Tide Has Turned

The halting of three in-city freeway expansions highlights a new momentum on reversing the damage of highways through urban areas.

Pedal Power Needs People Power

Here’s two stories about powerful local action that Strong Towns members are taking to make their places more bike friendly.

Bikeability, Membership, Herriges, Success Story, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 9, 2022bikeability, bike share, bikes, biking, bike infrastructure, member drive, member testimonials, membership, success, success stories, colorado, Pennsylvania

CDOT Cancels Highway Expansion Plans

In a moment to be celebrated, CDOT cancels highway expansion plans, stating they "have no money" to add vehicle capacity to I-25.

#NoNewRoads, Sheppard, Success Story, Transportation, Top StorySeairra SheppardMay 24, 2022transportation, transportation spending, highways, highway spending, freeway widening, freeways, colorado, success, success stories, #NoNewRoads

2022 Strongest Town Final Four: Voting (Now Closed)

Who will move on to the championship round next week? Their fate is in your hands!

Strongest Town Contest, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 28, 2022The Bottom-Up Revolution, Strongest Town 2022, Strongest Town Competition, Ohio, Indiana, colorado

Small Town. Big Housing Crisis.

The housing crisis is hitting small, rural towns—often in even more stark and dire ways than in urban areas.

Herriges, Housing, Rural, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 27, 2021Housing, colorado, rural, Small Towns, small towns, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing cost

CDOT's Proposal for Transit-Induced Pollution

CDOT drafts a rule that intends to address both greenhouse gas emissions and Colorado’s spreading development pattern. But can this kind of top-down solution work?

When The Mine Closes

How one Colorado town is breaking away from its former dependence on mining.

Herriges, Success Story, Urban3, Resource Trap, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 12, 2021colorado, idaho springs, community, Urban3, Resource Trap - Case Studies

The Roots of a Resilient Small City Economy in Durango

A model of what the future could look like for communities that depend on extractive industry, if they make the right investments.

#DotheMath, Community, Herriges, Success Story, Urban3, Top Story, Resource TrapDaniel HerrigesApril 22, 2021colorado, Urban3, local business, business, resilience, success stories, Economy, Resource Trap - Case Studies

"Another Kind of Piñata You Can Be"

The suburban growth model might as well be called an extractive industry: it deals just as much of a beating to communities that embrace it.

Herriges, Suburban Experiment, Urban3, Top Story, Resource TrapDaniel HerrigesApril 7, 2021suburbs, colorado, Pueblo, Urban3, suburban experiment, Resource Trap - Case Studies

We're not going to build more Main Street towns. Here's one way to move on.

What if the “beautiful dream” of a Main Street urbanism isn’t available? What can be done to adapt that dream to auto-dependent suburbs? More than you might expect.

Housing, Neighborhoods, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJanuary 15, 2020colorado, Denver, suburbs, incremental development

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