Not finding what you are looking for?
Visit the Strong Towns Archive for our older articles.
Journal

Browse

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Car-pocalypse Not Now: Why Predicted Gridlock in Seattle Was (Again) a No-Show

Induced demand goes both ways.

Streets
Highways
Car-pocalypse Not Now: Why Predicted Gridlock in Seattle Was (Again) a No-Show
Aiming for Imperfection

"We see our tolerance for chaos reflected in our built environment."

Members
Streets
Aiming for Imperfection
Value Per Acre Analysis: A How-To For Beginners

Accounting
Value Per Acre Analysis: A How-To For Beginners
The Causes of Traffic and Congestion

Will this new development make traffic worse? The conventional wisdom about the relationship between development and traffic contains a number of important misconceptions.

Streets
The Causes of Traffic and Congestion
Most Public Engagement is Worthless

It is the experiences of real people that should guide our planning efforts. Their actions are the data we should be collecting, not their stated preferences.

Most Public Engagement is Worthless
“Why Are Developers Only Building Luxury Housing?”

If you’ve asked this lately, or heard someone else ask it, here are five possible reasons why.

Housing
“Why Are Developers Only Building Luxury Housing?”
The Real Reason Your Local Mall is Failing

The closing of the mall’s anchor store exposes how fragile the community’s business model is, providing an opening to shift approach.

Accounting
The Real Reason Your Local Mall is Failing
What's a STROAD and Why Does It Matter?

Need a crash course in what makes our streets dangerous and how to make them safer and more financially productive?

Streets
Highways
What's a STROAD and Why Does It Matter?
Why Walkable Streets are More Economically Productive

3 dollars and cents arguments that definitively prove the need for people-oriented, walk-friendly places.

Streets
Why Walkable Streets are More Economically Productive
The Real Reason Your Downtown Died

Government and corporate decisions half a century ago robbed our cities of life and prosperity today.

Streets
The Real Reason Your Downtown Died
10 Questions to Ask Someone Running for Local Office

Want to figure out whether a local candidate for public office will uphold Strong Towns principles and values on the job? Ask them these 10 questions.

10 Questions to Ask Someone Running for Local Office
Why Parking Minimums Almost Destroyed My Hometown and How We Repealed Them

Plus 5 tips for repealing parking minimums in your community.

Parking
Why Parking Minimums Almost Destroyed My Hometown and How We Repealed Them
The Negative Consequences of Car Dependency

Towns that are designed for cars instead of people experience serious challenges that negatively impact small businesses, community health, and financial success for everyone.

Streets
The Negative Consequences of Car Dependency
Fine-Grained vs. Coarse-Grained Urbanism

There's a big difference between these two types of development and one will create a far better outcome for our cities.

Streets
Fine-Grained vs. Coarse-Grained Urbanism
The Little House, A Story of Incrementalism

What a children's book can teach us about land value.

Housing
Accounting
The Little House, A Story of Incrementalism
The Power of Growing Incrementally

Step-by-step growth built our greatest cities. So why do we keep reaching for silver bullets instead?

Housing
Accounting
The Power of Growing Incrementally
Poor Neighborhoods Make the Best Investments

We can make low risk, high returning investments in our cities while improving the quality of life for people, particularly those who are not benefiting from the current approach.

Accounting
Poor Neighborhoods Make the Best Investments
The Real Reason Your City Has No Money

Problems have solutions. Predicaments have outcomes. We're in a predicament.

Accounting
The Real Reason Your City Has No Money
Five Ways Federal Infrastructure Spending Makes Cities Poorer

The United States spends a lot of money on infrastructure. So then why is most of it failing?

Highways
Accounting
Five Ways Federal Infrastructure Spending Makes Cities Poorer
A Big, Sad Hole in the Cold Vermont Ground

It was going to be great, but it didn't turn out like the planners said it would.

Accounting
A Big, Sad Hole in the Cold Vermont Ground
What clearly makes us richer

Respected economists know that investing in infrastructure clearly makes us richer. It's obvious. No further discussion needed... Respected economists are wrong.

Accounting
What clearly makes us richer
How to Encourage Entrepreneurship in Your Town

A strong town needs strong local businesses.

How to Encourage Entrepreneurship in Your Town
Why I Love Trader Joe's Parking Lots

Notoriously bemoaned, Trader Joe's parking lots are known for their small size, tight spots & limited maneuvering areas. But that's actually a much better model than the wasted space that most grocery stores have in their parking lots.

Parking
Why I Love Trader Joe's Parking Lots
6 Principles for Building a Strong Town

6 principles for building stronger and more prosperous places.

Accounting
6 Principles for Building a Strong Town

Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter

The urgent work of thousands of advocates — straight to your inbox.

Get important updates, top stories and notifications about when Strong Towns will be in your area.