Who's Subsidizing Who?

In a community dismissed as the “ghetto,” residents are doing the math on public investments — and finding surprises — then empowering residents to build a stronger future.

The Power of Incremental Change in Detroit (Part 2)

The story of a neighborhood-led effort to address blight on Detroit’s East Side.

How we crowd out the best local investments

The Strong Towns approach to public investment is part of an overall strategy of shifting our local energy from chasing the next project to building real wealth.

Neighborhoods First In Shreveport

Transforming your community for the better probably doesn’t mean big, expensive, top-down projects. It’s the small neighborhood investments that can make your town or city truly strong.

Neighborhoods First, Top StoryCharles MarohnJanuary 15, 2020neighborhoods first, Better Block Project, Shreveport

Best of 2019: If We’re Not Going to Maintain What We Have, Then Why Bother Building Anything New?

The mentality of “easy to maintain” needs to be replaced with a question of whether something is “worth maintaining.”

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnDecember 12, 2019maintenance, Disney, neighborhoods first, lovability

Lessons Learned from Joining My City's Oldest Neighborhood Association

In the age of Nextdoor and Facebook, many have (understandably) lost faith in the humble neighborhood association. But visit the oldest neighborhood association in Denton, Texas and you’ll discover why they can still play a big role in building strong towns.

Thinking Big About Thinking Small: The Strong Towns Philosophy in Conversation

Planting a tree, fixing a sidewalk or a street light, painting a crosswalk: these are some of the highest-returning investments we can make today. So why aren’t our cities oriented toward them? Two very different conversations featuring Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn explore this question.