Hey, Stroad Sister

MassDOT has proposed an expensive plan to reduce congestion in Fairhaven, MA…by causing congestion?

Safe & Productive Streets, Top StoryWill GardnerApril 27, 2023STROADS, Safe and Productive Streets, Massachusetts, Street Design, Speeding, speeding, speed, design, congestion, traffic congestion, traffic engineering

Lessons From the Forest

Change requires believing in our own ability to adapt.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedMarch 21, 2023Sense-of-place, design, urban design, Parks, parks

You Have All the Parking You Need—And It’s Hiding in Plain Sight

So, your community has decided it needs more parking. That doesn’t mean you’ll have to destroy buildings and dump a sizeable amount of money into (and take on the long-term liabilities of) a block-sized parking lot.

End Parking Mandates, Edward Erfurt, Safe & Productive Streets, Top StoryEdward ErfurtMarch 3, 2023Parking, parking minimums, parking, End Parking Mandates and Subsidies, STROADS, streets, design, Street Design, Safe and Productive Streets

Whose Responsibility Is It To Ensure That Buildings Interact With the Public Realm in a Delightful Way?

It’s important to build safe and productive streets, but how do we ensure those streets are a place people want to be and live in?

Podcast, Upzoned, Safe & Productive Streets, Urban Design, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 1, 2023Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, Safe and Productive Streets, aesthetics, architecture, design, urban design

What Ever Happened to Beauty?

Being human means being connected to place. So why have we stopped seeing our places as extensions of ourselves, of our homes, and of our values?

Architecture, Owens, Urban Design, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedFebruary 21, 2023architecture, aesthetics, design, urban design, highways

What's Actually Wrong With This Building?

Heated discussion about a new condo in Sarasota, FL, has got locals calling the building an eyesore. But is this a case of misdirected ire?

Architecture, Herriges, Urban Design, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 25, 2023architecture, design, density, f, Florida, downtown, zoning, urban design

Cutting Corners

What if we told you that by cutting a few corners, you can actually make your community a better and safer place?

Edward Erfurt, Safe & Productive Streets, Top StoryEdward ErfurtJanuary 20, 2023Safe and Productive Streets, design, Street Design, #SlowTheCars, Pedestrian Safety, traffic engineering, intersections

Main Streets Designed Like State Highways: How They Work and How To Change Them

Two prominent communities in Berkshire County, MA, are in the midst of deciding what to prioritize on their main streets: cars or people?

Maximum Impact and a Low Price Tag: Putting Paint and Planters to Work in Edmond, OK

Over the course of a Sunday afternoon, this Strong Towns member created a simple and achievable plan to transform a local street—all on a small budget!

Great Wee Roads: What Driving in Scotland Taught Me About Driving in America

Take a trip with our Community Builder, John Pattison, as he discovers why the design of Scottish roads makes them safe—and downright pleasant—to drive on, even for a foreigner!

#SlowtheCars, Pattison, Transportation, Top Story, End Highway Expansion, Safe & Productive StreetsJohn PattisonNovember 1, 2022Europe, transportation, roads, design, Street Design, Safe and Productive Streets, cars, traffic engineering, #SlowTheCars

Not Just Bikes: Crossing the Street Shouldn't Be Deadly (But It Is)

This latest Not Just Bikes video demystifies deadly street design by contrasting what it’s like to navigate streets on foot in the U.S. and Canada with what it’s like in the Netherlands.

Build Galesburg for People, Not Cars

Galesburg, IL, is talking about Strong Towns ideas, centered around a question that many Strong Towns readers are familiar with: “Is our downtown built for cars instead of people?”

Sheppard, Urban Design, Top StorySeairra SheppardAugust 23, 2022downtown, Small Towns, main street, car dependency, auto-oriented, people centered places, design, Illinois, incrementalism, bottom-up

We Often Don’t Think About Design—But It Tells Us How To Think

Design affects us in a multitude of ways, and when we look to nature as inspiration for designing the built environment, the core takeaways are: adaptation and incrementalism.

Incrementalism, Sheppard, Zoning, Top StorySeairra SheppardAugust 9, 2022design, urban design, Neighborhood Design, aesthetics, incrementalism, incremental, incremental development, incremental growth, zoning, traditional development pattern

If We Build Cities for Kids, We Build Cities for Everyone

Can you walk down your local streets with your kids—without gripping their hands and anxiously eying traffic—and feel comfortable and relaxed? If not, something’s wrong with the design of those streets.