Ask Strong Towns #16

We invite our members to submit their questions on anything they would like out thoughts on. This week we talk RSS feed, irrational fears and organizing members.

Ask Strong TownsCharles MarohnJune 5, 2015

Hays: A Mature Conversation

Hays, Kansas, shows us what a mature, Strong Towns conversation looks like when local leaders start asking the right set of questions.

#DotheMathCharles MarohnJune 5, 2015Hays KS

Show 239: Who Pays for Roads

Tony Dutzik, Senior Policy Analyst with Frontier Group, joins the podcast to talk about a new report he co-authored: Who Pays for Roads? How the "Users Pay" Myt Gets in the Way of Solving America's Transportation Problems.

PodcastStrong TownsJune 4, 2015public transportation, transportation spending, gas tax

What's your big idea?

Are you sitting on a big idea for your city, your neighborhood or your block? Ready to take some actions but having trouble getting started? Does your idea require some money but you have no idea how to raise it?

Ready to take that next smallest step on a longer journey?

#StrongCitizensStrong TownsJune 3, 2015

Highrise Lowpark

Let's say you're building an apartment building with over 20 units (arbitrary number). If it's not obvious that your parking should be opt-in and underground, maybe the development isn't a great idea to begin with?

At Strong Towns, we seem to like quick tools that help with the mental math of cities. For example, I loved the Strong Towns Strength Test which asked, "Take a photo of your main street at midday. Does the picture show more people than cars?" Maybe this parking lot thing is another weather-vane with built in wisdom. It's not to be relied upon, but can give you a good hunch to start from.

Neighborhood DesignGracen JohnsonJune 3, 2015Fredericton, parking

Do you wanna be a (small scale) developer?

Strong Towns helped to catalyze the Small Scale Developers movement.

Small Scale DevelopersJim KumonJune 3, 2015John Anderson, Monte Anderson, incremental development

The real welfare Cadillacs have 18 wheels

Truck freight movement gets a subsidy of between $57 and $128 billion annually in the form of uncompensated social costs, over and above what trucks pay in taxes, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Member PostJoe CortrightJune 2, 2015Joe Cortright, Congressional Budget Office

Idaho enacts #NoNewRoads Lite

The Idaho legislature recently ended its 2015 session with a transportation funding compromise that included passage of a seven cent per gallon increase in the gas tax and additional registration fees.

#NoNewRoads, FinanceCharles MarohnJune 2, 2015gas tax

Monday News Digest: Order, Chaos, Fragility, and Flexibility

The best from Strong Towns members' blogs this week: Hawaii's "Lava People"—experimental housing in a minimal-regulation environment. The appeal of location vs. "unlocation." What makes people identify with the urban environment? The future of the corner store. When to use TIF. Pros and cons of regional consolidation of government. Dallas from a hotel's -eye-view. Unorthodox citizen participation tactics.

Herriges, Monday Member Blog RollDaniel HerrigesJune 1, 2015ecosystems