Simplicity and timelessness

#wecandothis

Strategies, Urban Design, Roads and Streets, Strong Towns MemeMatthias LeyrerJanuary 13, 2015Street Design, history, zoning

Seeding Mammals

Massive, quick change is only going to come by having a nation of people who care about their communities and are prepared, as an expression of that caring, to share the Strong Towns message with their friends and neighborhoods, then take action together to change their places. That's the Strong Towns movement.

Best of Blog: Complex Cities

Cities are complex places. We need to embrace the complexity, and the difficult and sometimes painful feedback that comes along with it, if we want our cities to grow strong and resilient. Best of Blog 2014.

10 Steps to Fix a City

For municipalities that want to become Strong Towns, here’s a ranked list of the highest impact actions that would help restore a productive development pattern. This is a generic list, not tailored to any specific community, but the actions on this list would apply to the majority of US towns.

An economic evolution is underway

The response isn’t to ignore or fight against, but to embrace. Update the city codes and add flexibility. Make all services viable, because if you try to stop them, you might not be able to. They won’t change your world overnight, but they should give your city a tool in a wider toolkit, and a Strong Town is one that embraces a greater toolkit of possibilities.

StrategiesNathaniel M. HoodMarch 12, 2014Richard Florida

Saying no for the sake of yes.

You have to be willing to say no to the bad if you want your city to be built with the good, especially with the development incentives rigged as they are today. Sometimes this can create pro and anti-development factions in your city. A tool to diffuse that animosity is to remember that every time you say no to a proposal, you could be saying yes to something better.

Cost of Development, Neighborhoods First, StrategiesGracen JohnsonJanuary 22, 2014

Best of Blog: Good Enough Urbanism

Over the years I've found something I think people who love walkable, human-oriented places collectively struggle with: we want to get the *very best* urban design codified and implemented in our cities. This is of course the right end-goal, but it hurts us by limiting our ability to productively deal with overwhelming quantity of low-quality, underperforming space in the city.

Best of Blog: Schools on Safe Routes

Safe Routes to School is a very popular federal program designed to make is easier for students to walk and bike to school. The amount spent on it, however, is a tiny fraction of what we spend each year building brand new schools. A approach to build Schools on Safe Routes would not only be more intelligent, it would be more effective and far cheaper.

Best of Blog, Bikeability, Walkability, StrategiesCharles MarohnDecember 11, 2013Safe Routes to Schools, Baxter MN, schools

Memphis can't win convention center 'race'

Finance, Mistakes A Town Makes, StrategiesWesley RiddleDecember 9, 2013Memphis, economics, people centered places, Public Return on Investment

Hire a Marathon Planner

StrategiesNathaniel M. HoodOctober 9, 2013

The Politics of Dumb Infrastructure [Revisited]

We have a political situation in the United States where Democrats are too eager to build anything if it creates a job and the Republicans are too willing to call a project a boondoggle without first investigating its merit.

Roads and Streets, StrategiesNathaniel M. HoodJune 19, 2013public transportation, politics

Are We Entitled Yet?

The real estate entitlement process is like walking a tightrope. How can we get more developers safely across?

StrategiesJennifer KrouseApril 17, 2013Economic Development, Risk, Strategies for Growth

Small, Simple and Flexible

Neighborhood Design, StrategiesNathaniel M. HoodApril 10, 2013Tactical Urbanism

City as banker and venture capitalist

Finance, StrategiesCharles MarohnApril 8, 2013

Preparing to Tackle Risk

What's the first task in a risk-oriented economic development strategy?