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Portland’s Quiet Housing Revolution Is Starting to Pay Off

Portland’s zoning overhaul is producing what every city says it wants: more homes people can actually afford.

Housing
Portland’s Quiet Housing Revolution Is Starting to Pay Off
The Garage Gadget That Could Change Your Street

In Portland, Oregon one neighbor’s DIY device is quietly collecting the kind of street data cities can’t ignore—and that neighbors have known all along.

Streets
The Garage Gadget That Could Change Your Street
The Trouble with Abundance

Abundance looks to reform from above. We think you shouldn’t wait for permission.

The Trouble with Abundance
How Ottawa Residents Turned a Movie Marquee Into a Message for Better Transit

Instead of waiting for someone else to fix their community’s transit problems, this group of local advocates took initiative with something simple—and powerful.

Streets
How Ottawa Residents Turned a Movie Marquee Into a Message for Better Transit
Reclaim Your Streets: 5 Essential Guides & Studies

Tactical urbanism is changing the way we approach city-building—here are five studies, toolkits, and guides to help you get started where you live.

Streets
Reclaim Your Streets: 5 Essential Guides & Studies
Stop Hitting My House

John Gall’s home sits at the base of a T-intersection—a spot where, in theory, drivers are supposed to turn either left or right. But that’s not what keeps happening.

Streets
Stop Hitting My House
Want To Stop Your City’s Decline? Start Building Public Trust.

From school integration to budget reform, Rick Cole has spent his life encouraging cities to meet their residents’ needs in smart and sustainable ways. Here's his advice for city officials.

Want To Stop Your City’s Decline? Start Building Public Trust.
Fed Up With Red Tape, an Indiana Town Tries a New Housing Strategy

In Lawrence, Indiana, a new housing task force is turning local tools into real solutions to tackle the town’s growing housing crisis head-on.

Housing
Fed Up With Red Tape, an Indiana Town Tries a New Housing Strategy
The Design That’s Failing Phoenix—One Crash at a Time

If crashes happen in the same place over and over, is it really an accident? Phoenix residents say no—and they have the data to prove it.

Streets
The Design That’s Failing Phoenix—One Crash at a Time
The Elements of a City: Structures, Conduits, and Interfaces

To build a strong city, you first have to understand the building blocks you’re working with and how they fit together.

Housing
The Elements of a City: Structures, Conduits, and Interfaces
Governing Like Caesar with Jesus in Mind: Why Cities Fail When They Plan Top-Down and Hope Bottom-Up

"Jane Jacobs ends through Robert Moses means" is the modus operandi of many planners and advocates. It's also a total misunderstanding of both the brilliance of Jacobs and the shortcomings of Moses.

Highways
Streets
Governing Like Caesar with Jesus in Mind: Why Cities Fail When They Plan Top-Down and Hope Bottom-Up
After Another Fatal Crash, He Drew a Crosswalk. Now He Might Face Jailtime.

The latest fatality on a Charlottesville road was the last straw for Kevin Cox, but his efforts to make the area safer might land him twelve months of jailtime. What if cities saw actions like his not as crimes—but as calls for change?

Streets
After Another Fatal Crash, He Drew a Crosswalk. Now He Might Face Jailtime.
This Tool Makes Municipal Finance… Fun?

Over 20 communities have used the Finance Decoder to turn dense spreadsheets into clear direction—proving that financial transparency doesn’t have to be dull.

Accounting
This Tool Makes Municipal Finance… Fun?
Breaking News: Grassroots Bench Builders Score a Win in Bay Area

What began as a quiet act of care—building benches where none existed—just got the City of Richmond’s official blessing.

Streets
Breaking News: Grassroots Bench Builders Score a Win in Bay Area
What do these cities in Wisconsin and Texas have in common? They ditched parking mandates.

How much does parking cost? Enough to make cities rethink whether it should be mandatory at all.

Parking
What do these cities in Wisconsin and Texas have in common? They ditched parking mandates.
One Intersection. 28 Crashes. Locals Say No More.

By embracing the Crash Analysis Studio model, New Haven residents are shifting the conversation away from blame and towards preventing the next tragedy.

Streets
One Intersection. 28 Crashes. Locals Say No More.
What Happens to Your City When the Federal Check Doesn’t Clear?

We’re not just looking at a future where cities can’t count on federal support. We’re facing one where Washington itself might be powerless to intervene, even if it wanted to.

Accounting
What Happens to Your City When the Federal Check Doesn’t Clear?
Cities of Yes: 6 Places Opening the Door to More Housing

By clearing the path for more homes in more places, these places aren’t just tweaking policy—they’re rewriting the rules to build stronger, more resilient communities.

Housing
Cities of Yes: 6 Places Opening the Door to More Housing
Can Loosening Parking Rules Unlock Madison’s Missing Middle?

What do expensive rent, stalled construction projects, and endless parking lots have in common? Mandatory parking minimums. But in cities like Madison, Wisconsin, that might change soon.

Parking
Can Loosening Parking Rules Unlock Madison’s Missing Middle?
Washington Just Rewrote the Rules on Parking — Here’s Why It Worked

Washington just passed one of the strongest statewide parking reforms in the country—by rethinking not just the rules, but the way we talk about them.

Parking
Washington Just Rewrote the Rules on Parking — Here’s Why It Worked
What’s With the Vacant Storefronts? 8 Reasons for Empty Commercial Spaces

Here are eight reasons a storefront might sit vacant, applying to both professionally new built and legacy storefronts.

Streets
What’s With the Vacant Storefronts? 8 Reasons for Empty Commercial Spaces
Columbus Locals Turn Data into Dialogue

What happens when everyday people dig into a city’s balance sheet? In Columbus, it sparked a three-hour conversation—and maybe a shift in mindset.

Accounting
Local Conversations
Columbus Locals Turn Data into Dialogue
Why Do Commercial Spaces Sit Vacant?

Instead of letting their commercial buildings sit empty, surely it would be better for landlords to lower the rent and got some use out of the building, right? Wrong. Here’s why.

Accounting
Why Do Commercial Spaces Sit Vacant?
Cars Rarely Speed in Residential Areas. That Doesn't Make Them Safe.

If you think cars are speeding down your residential street, you're almost certainly wrong. That doesn’t mean cars are moving at a safe speed, though.

Streets
Cars Rarely Speed in Residential Areas. That Doesn't Make Them Safe.

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