A recent advertising insert in the Winnipeg Free Press would have us believe that road expansion will solve not only homelessness, but crime and addiction, as well. Let's investigate these lofty claims.

End Highway Expansion, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodApril 26, 2023transportation spending, active transportation, transit, End Highway Expansion, canada, Canada, Manitoba, homelessness, Homelessness, highways, highway spending, freeway widening, economic growth

Homelessness in Rural America

Although you may not see as many people without homes in the streets of rural America, that doesn’t mean the housing crisis hasn’t struck communities outside of big cities.

Podcast, Upzoned, Incremental Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 29, 2023Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Incremental Housing, homelessness, Homelessness

Flushing Success Down the Toilet

This public toilet in Winnipeg, MB, is a case study in why city governments need to pay attention to the power of small bets.

Local Government, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodMarch 24, 2023city government, canada, Canada, public space, homelessness, Homelessness, small bets, little bets, local government, Transparent Local Accounting

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Uniting For-Profits and Nonprofits to End Homelessness

Beth Silverman is working on a non-traditional—and very successful—approach to housing affordability.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Top Story, HousingStrong TownsMay 26, 2022Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, developers, landlords, homelessness

Something Is Clearly Wrong With the Property Tax Appraisal System

Across the country, the property tax system is causing economic hardship for homeowners—and it’s because the system itself is flawed.

Housing, Sheppard, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardApril 19, 2022Just Accounting for Health, Urban3, tax base, property tax, North Carolina, Vermont, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, homelessness, Homelessness

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

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

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Turning a Historic Synagogue into a Community Cultural Center

Rabbi Donna Berman leads a community center serving neighbors in Hartford, CT.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Faith, Neighborhoods, Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 10, 2022taking action, The Bottom-Up Revolution, education, children, homelessness, revitalization

A Resilient, Long-Term Approach to Addressing Homelessness

What would an incremental, fiscally responsible and local approach to solving homelessness look like?

Housing, Top StoryRachel QuednauDecember 2, 2020homelessness, Homelessness, poverty

Low-Income Families in Philly Want to Build Their Own Future

The City of Philadelphia is pursuing expensive new construction while neglecting basic maintenance on hundreds of houses that could become homes for low-income residents. Now, residents are taking matters into their own hands.

Housing, Top StoryRachel QuednauSeptember 23, 2020housing, Philadelphia, homelessness

The Good Samaritan in the Age of the Automobile

The physical design of the modern public realm, with its emphasis on speedy efficiency, advances a dehumanizing tendency. It undermines the opportunity to be a neighbor.

Urban Design, Faith, Top StoryVince GrahamOctober 2, 2018auto-oriented, community, psychology, homelessness

Can Utah’s Approach to Homelessness Work Everywhere?

In 2015, Utah made major headlines for “solving homelessness.” What does that look like today and can this model be applied elsewhere?

Housing, Top Story, ByronAubrey ByronMay 15, 2018homelessness

The Neglected Trolley Line

In Washington, DC, a former trolley line lies neglected by the transit system that owns it, the park service whose land surrounds it, a major Catholic university that abuts it, and the city it runs through.

Kevin PoseyFebruary 2, 2017public transportation, homelessness

The Challenge of Reaching Poor Suburban Residents

The deck is stacked against suburban residents trying to make it out of poverty and the current network of nonprofit and government-based service agencies is not set up to help them.

Top Story, Transportation, Suburban Poverty, Quednau, HousingRachel QuednauAugust 17, 2016poverty, public transportation, homelessness, Milwaukee, page highlight

The Trajectory of Suburban Poverty

Our de facto national housing policy of drive-till-you-qualify suburban development works well enough for people with an education and a professional salary. It fails the working class entirely and that’s by design.

Top Story, Suburban Poverty, Sanphillippo, Growth Ponzi Scheme, HousingJohnny SanphillippoAugust 16, 2016homelessness, poverty, middle class, page highlight, subsidies

Real Housing Choice

A recent shift in federal housing policy may give low-income families a true choice in where they live, enabling them to find homes is safe, well-resourced neighborhoods.

Housing, Quednau, Top StoryRachel QuednauJuly 1, 2016homelessness, poverty, HUD

Best of 2015: A Strong Towns Response to Homelessness

Homelessness is an issue that we as Strong Towns advocates should care about. Put simply: your town is not strong if some of your residents lack homes. How can we get there in a practical and lasting manner?