Upzoning Might Not Lower Housing Costs. Do It Anyway.

Americans need housing relief imminently. Despite what you may have heard, upzoning isn’t likely to be the thing that delivers that—but here's why it’s still worth pursuing.

Incremental Housing, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesApril 26, 2023Incremental Housing, upzoning, zoning, housing cost, housing affordability, rent, renters, housing crisis, housing, housing policy

On Choosing a Place

Settling down from a cross-country move, Strong Towns Editor-in-Chief Daniel Herriges reflects on what makes a place feel like “home,” and what prompts people to put roots in a location—even if it’s not a “perfect” place.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesApril 5, 2023home, community, Community, Florida

A Century-Old Neighborhood Provides a Model for the Present Day

Good urbanism doesn’t have to mean large apartment buildings or an immaculate row of brownstones; the ad-hoc version on display in this Florida neighborhood is more relevant as a model of adaptation for the rest of us.

Herriges, Incremental Housing, Top Story, Community StoriesDaniel HerrigesFebruary 22, 2023Florida, history, traditional development pattern, Incremental Housing, neighborhood, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, housing, housing crisis, ADUs, accessory dwelling units, infill, aesthetics

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

Who Does it Take to (Physically) Build a Neighborhood?

If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a whole community to build a building. The small-scale developers of South Bend, IN, are showing how to do just that—and do it successfully in the long term.

Herriges, Incremental Housing, Top Story, Community StoriesDaniel HerrigesFebruary 1, 2023Incremental Housing, incremental development, incrementalism, incremental, Indiana, developers, Development, development, small scale developers, small scale development

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

Will There Still Be Chinatowns in Utopia?

“Community character" is often invoked to support exclusion and discrimination, but there are also communities whose unique "character" matters—a lot. How (if at all) should local government support such places?

Neighborhoods, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 18, 2023neighborhood, Neighborhoods, local government, local regulation, race, Race, housing policy

There’s No Such Thing as Affordable Housing

Los Angeles lost a hundred thousand affordable homes in a decade. Don’t look to bulldozers to explain how.

Herriges, Housing, Incremental Housing, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 4, 2023Incremental Housing, housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, Los Angeles, poverty

The Top 3 Strong Towns Articles and Podcasts from 2022: Daniel's Picks

Strong Towns Editor-in-Chief Daniel Herriges shares his favorite content from this past year.

Best of Blog, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesDecember 14, 2022Best of 2022

Reminder: The Place You Live Is Not New York (Unless It Is)

Discourse about affordable housing is dominated by a handful of extremely unrepresentative places, and the solutions that might be applicable in those places don't translate in the rest of the U.S.

Herriges, Housing, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesDecember 1, 2022housing, housing affordability, housing activism, housing cost, Incremental Housing, Housing, housing policy, YIMBY, NIMBY

The #BlackFridayParking Exception That Proves the Rule

Most parking lots on Black Friday are not going to be full. Here’s one retail complex that’s an exception—but it just proves that having “enough” parking is always less important than creating a place people want to be.

#BlackFridayParking, Parking, Herriges, Top Story, End Parking MandatesDaniel HerrigesNovember 25, 2022Parking, parking, parking minimums, End Parking Mandates and Subsidies, #BlackFridayParking, greenspace, Florida

Good Ideas Need Pollinators

Bottom-up change led by local heroes leads to momentum that replicates virally—and we're seeing the results nationwide.

Herriges, Membership, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesNovember 16, 2022membership, member drive

“The City Should Put a Trader Joe’s There” (and Other Muddled Thinking About Development)

Many of us are keen to express the “what” that we’d like to see in the built environment, but unwilling to think rationally and clearly about the “how.”

Herriges, Local Government, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 17, 2022development, local government, Municipalism, city government, localism, community, Community, big box stores

Pre-Approved House Designs Jump-Start Infill Development in South Bend

While other places keep finding ways to say “no” to new housing, this Indiana city is offering pre-approved development templates to small-scale developers at no cost.

Herriges, Housing, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesOctober 6, 2022housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Incremental Housing, incremental development, Infill Development, infill, missing middle, Indiana, success, success stories, Development, small-scale developers

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.

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

The Starter House Is Nearly Extinct

Increasingly, for entire cities in the U.S., buying a starter home on a modest income is no longer an option.

Housing, Herriges, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesSeptember 8, 2022housing cost, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing, Incremental Housing, housing market, housing policy

Letting Ugly Things Grow

If you value the end state of a walkable, diverse, dynamic place with a lot of local character, then you must also value the process that gets you there.

Herriges, Incrementalism, Urban Design, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesSeptember 7, 2022urban design, urbanism, aesthetics, ecology, incremental growth, incrementalism, incremental

We Are Holding Engineers Accountable for Dangerous Road Designs. The Engineering Powers That Be Want Us To Shut Up.

Pointing out the emperor’s nakedness doesn’t make you very popular in the emperor’s court. That’s not going to stop us from pointing out gross negligence in the engineering profession when we see it.

Engineering Profession, Engineering Reform, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 29, 2022engineering profession, engineering ethics

2 College Towns Leading the Way on Land-Use Reform

Although they stand in very different parts of the country, these college towns are spearheading the push to eliminate harmful, longstanding land-use policies.

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