Professional Engineers: Speak Up. The Stakes Are Life and Death.

Today on Upzoned, Strong Towns Founder and President Chuck Marohn and Program Director Rachel Quednau discuss updates on the Strong Towns lawsuit, and how we got here.

Upzoned, Podcast, Top Story, Engineering Profession, Engineering ReformStrong TownsAugust 31, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, engineering profession, engineering ethics

Remove Highway 99: A Crazy Idea in “Deep” South Park

What was once a fringe idea to convince the state of Washington to turn a section of Highway 99 over to local control has grown into a publicly funded action.

#NoNewRoads, Stange, Top StoryJay StangeAugust 31, 2022End Highway Expansion, highways, freeway removal, freeways, urban freeways, Washington, suburban experiment, #NoNewRoads

These Engineers Stand for Reform and They’re Speaking Out Against Regressive Leadership in Their Profession

The Minnesota board of engineering licensure tried to silence a reform-minded engineer—and in response, other engineers are standing up and making themselves heard.

Engineering Profession, Engineering Reform, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 31, 2022engineering profession, engineering ethics

"The Street Project" Is a Great Warmup for a Street Fight

This film makes a human rights case for safer streets, while showing the historic roots of safe streets advocacy in the U.S. and the power of tactical urbanism.

Licensing Board to the Engineering Profession: "Stay in Line"

The Minnesota licensing board has essentially issued a warning to professional engineers: Stay in line or you will face attack by colleagues who disagree with you.

Engineering Profession, Engineering Reform, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 30, 2022engineering profession, engineering ethics

Nervous About Speaking in Front of Your Council? Practice!

Join us Wednesday, August 31, for a mock council meeting, in which we’ve asked our Strong Towns Toastmasters members to prepare a persuasive speech or participate as a skeptical council member.

Announcement, Van Eeden Petersman, Top StoryNorman Van Eeden PetersmanAugust 29, 2022announcement, city council

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

Strong Towns Will Defend Engineers’ Right to Free Speech From the Minnesota Licensing Board

Charles Marohn was fined, censured, and reprimanded for speaking up for change as an engineer. We’re fighting to have this state board’s decision overturned, so they know they can’t use their power to intimidate those who call for reform.

Engineering Profession, Engineering Reform, Top StoryAndrew BurlesonAugust 29, 2022engineering profession, engineering ethics, engineers

Show, Don't Tell

This Sunday, our Neighborhood Storyteller reflects on the craft of…well, storytelling!

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Top StoryKarla TheilenAugust 28, 2022neighborhood storyteller

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

YIGBYism, brothers, and quantitative easing. These are just some of the stories from around the internet that Strong Towns staff were reading and talking about this week.

Friday Faves, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 26, 2022friday faves, Friday Faves

Our On Again, Off Again, Infrastructure Future

Frequent power outages in California give pause to reflect on the overall fragility of our built environment.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoAugust 26, 2022California, wildfires, climate, Climate Change, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, Maintenance, Granola Shotgun

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…an Engineer Who “Saw the Light”

This engineer has been a Strong Towns advocate and member for a decade.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Success Story, #NoNewRoads, Engineering Profession, Membership, Member ProfilesStrong TownsAugust 25, 2022Podcast, engineering profession

Our Kids Shouldn’t Solve the School Bus Driver Shortage by Walking Through “Death Valley”

Just like last year, we’re facing a bus driver shortage. Some are asking why our kids can’t just walk, bike, or take public transit to school, but the answer isn’t that simple.

#SlowtheCars, Roads and Streets, Stange, Transportation, Top StoryJay StangeAugust 25, 2022Safety, Safe and Productive Streets, Safe Routes to Schools, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, children, schools, bus, buses, #PedestrianUnfriendly, #SlowTheCars, transportation

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.

New York's New Experiment in Fighting Gridlock

America’s first experiment with charging a toll to enter a congested urban area is going to begin in New York City next year.

Upzoned, Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 24, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, congestion, congestion pricing, traffic congestion, New York, toll roads, transportation, traffic engineering

Local Leaders, Come Join Us on Discord

Strong Towns Local Conversation leaders are hanging out on Discord!

Announcement, Pattison, Top StoryJohn PattisonAugust 24, 2022announcement, local conversations

What Causes Traffic Problems? Updating Your Mental Model

Part of why we can't agree on constructive solutions to traffic congestion is that our basic mental model of what causes traffic is wrong. But what if we made a slight update to that model?

Herriges, Transportation, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 24, 2022traffic congestion, traffic engineering, transportation, congestion, density, Development, development

Build Galesburg for People, Not Cars

Galesburg, IL, is talking about Strong Towns ideas, centered around a question that many Strong Towns readers are familiar with: “Is our downtown built for cars instead of people?”