Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Academies, libraries, and Kamloops. 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 TownsSeptember 30, 2022friday faves, Friday Faves

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit and Helping Others Do the Same

Sarah Cipkar created a tool to help people navigate the ADU process in Canada.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Zoning, Top Story, Incremental Housing, Community StoriesStrong TownsSeptember 29, 2022Podcast, accessory dwelling units, ADUs, canada, incremental development

The Paris of the Plains Can’t Afford Its Fountains Anymore

Kansas City is known for its beautiful fountains, but Parks and Rec says the city doesn’t have the funds to maintain this source of civic pride.

Upzoned, Podcast, Maintenance, Top Story, Transparent AccountingStrong TownsSeptember 28, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, Maintenance, Parks, Parks and Recreation, parks, Kansas City, Kansas

Springfield Delays Redesign of Deadly Street To Prioritize Traffic Flow

Springfield took a step forward in fixing this deadly stroad…but Department of Public Works officials are forcing the city to take two steps back again.

What Will Housing Prices Be a Year From Now?

If one thing’s clear about the housing market, it’s that it’s currently more sensitive to factors outside of your community—outside of your control—than anything within.

Finance, Housing, Marohn, Top Story, Incremental HousingCharles MarohnSeptember 26, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing market, Housing, housing policy, housing finance, Incremental Housing, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, finance

Hawaii's Suburban Experiment

How does the suburban development pattern present itself in a smaller island space, versus in the contiguous United States?

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Top Story, Transparent AccountingStrong TownsSeptember 26, 2022Podcast, podcast, Growth Ponzi Scheme, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, Hawaii, suburbanization

We’re Hiring a Full-Time Writer

Strong Towns is currently hiring a full-time staff writer. Apply today!

Announcement, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 26, 2022announcement, Strong Towns

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Young engineers, old hubris, and bug hotels. 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 TownsSeptember 23, 2022friday faves, Friday Faves

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…a Mayor Working for Safe Streets and a Thriving Downtown

Mayor Erin Stewart is helping create a brighter future for New Britain, CT.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Success Story, Local GovernmentStrong TownsSeptember 22, 2022Podcast, Connecticut, downtown, elected officials

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.

Battle of the Business Titans

A small, local, mixed-use business versus a new Amazon warehouse. Let’s put these two business proposals before the Shark Tank (Winnipeg edition).

The Pillaging of Detroit

Stunning new data analysis on the homes lost to tax forfeiture in Detroit shows that, in just a three-year span, $300 million in real estate transferred from homeowners living in Detroit to outside owners.

Finance, Housing, Sheppard, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardSeptember 20, 2022Detroit, Michigan, property tax, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, poverty, Poverty, local government, Transparent Local Accounting, Just Accounting for Health

The Suburbs Are a “One-Life-Cycle” Product

A recent CNBC documentary features Strong Towns insights from Charles Marohn about why suburban development is so risky.

Housing, Quednau, Top Story, Transparent AccountingRachel QuednauSeptember 20, 2022suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, suburbs, incremental development, incrementalism, incremental, Incremental Housing, housing cost, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing

The Jackson Water Crisis Is Not a Fluke. Your City Could Be Next.

For seven weeks Jackson’s residents had to bear the brunt of a failing water system, and unfortunately it was bound to happen.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Top Story, Transparent AccountingStrong TownsSeptember 19, 2022Podcast, podcast, Growth Ponzi Scheme, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, mississippi, water, sprawl, fragility

This Ice Machine Is a Case Study in Neighborhood Decline

When you prioritize fast car movement on a street that should be for building community wealth, don’t be surprised when you end up getting neither.

Marohn, Roads and Streets, Top Story, Safe & Productive Streets, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnSeptember 19, 2022Safe and Productive Streets, streets, STROADS, Brainerd MN, Minnesota, capitalism, decline, neighborhood, Small Towns, small towns, suburban development pattern

Talking to Strangers

Our Neighborhood Storyteller reflects on beating social isolation—even in isolated places.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Top StoryKarla TheilenSeptember 18, 2022neighborhood storyteller

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Chestnuts, Tolkien, and developer kings. 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 TownsSeptember 16, 2022friday faves, Friday Faves

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 Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Speaking Up to Build Strong Towns

Norm Van Eeden Petersman is the new member advocate at Strong Towns, as well as the leader of a Local Conversation group in Delta, BC.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Success Story, Membership, Member Profiles, Van Eeden PetersmanStrong TownsSeptember 15, 2022Podcast, local conversations, Canada

$4.7 Billion New Jersey Turnpike Expansion Ignores Local Leaders and Invites More Gridlock

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority plans to spend $4.7 billion updating and widening an eight-mile section of the turnpike, in the hopes of relieving congestion. Here’s why it’s not going to help.

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