You're invited to nominate a project for our Strongest Infrastructure Project contest.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 20, 2016infrastructure contest

Project Propaganda

When you hear a politician or an economist touting the payback in infrastructure spending, they are either ignorant or are feeding you cheap propaganda. Either way, we need to demand better.

Marohn, #InfrastructureCrisisCharles MarohnSeptember 20, 2016page highlight

The Week Ahead

We're back in the swing of things, talking about upcoming and past events, a recent #StrongSchools campaign, our ongoing #InfrastructureCrisis conversation and book recommendations too.

Top Story, PodcastStrong TownsSeptember 19, 2016the week ahead

Strong Towns Member and Contributor, Matthias Leyrer, on why he's Running for City Council

"There are simple things we could do to make this place great, and I think that’s what really fires me up."

Top Story, #StrongCitizens, #DotheMath, Quednau, Leyrer, Success StoryRachel QuednauSeptember 19, 2016local government, Minnesota

This Week's Slackchat with Chuck Marohn

Join us on Tuesday, September 20 to chat about infrastructure spending in America.

Marohn, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 19, 2016slackchat

Infrastructure Spending for Dummies

It is very likely that, within the next 12 to 24 months, your community is going to get some money for infrastructure. What are you going to do with it?

#InfrastructureCrisis, MarohnCharles MarohnSeptember 19, 2016page highlight

Strong TownsSeptember 17, 2016post roundup

Why #StrongSchools?

The challenge of improving the American public school system is enormous and complex. It's a conversation we need to keep having.

Walkability, Top Story, #StrongCitizens, QuednauRachel QuednauSeptember 16, 2016schools, Safe Routes to Schools, children, family

A Bold Idea for Reforming Education

Most teachers I know are amazing people, but the system they're working under doesn't always produce the best teachers to meet the needs of every kid. Here's a different approach.

Top Story, MarohnCharles MarohnSeptember 16, 2016schools

#SchoolCommute Highlights

As part of our Strong Schools campaign, we asked readers to share photographs of your children's trip to school with the hashtag #SchoolCommute. Here is a selection of some of the best submissions we received.

Artibise, Top StoryYuri ArtibiseSeptember 16, 2016schools, pedestrian safety

The Wonderful Walkability of College Campuses

In college, the action—whether a campus job, the library, the cafeteria or all your best friends—was within a 10 minute walk of your house. There's no reason that experience has to be confined to a four-year period of life, no reason it has to cost tens of thousands of dollars in annual tuition to partake in.

Walkability, Urban Design, Neighborhood Design, Quednau, Top StoryRachel QuednauSeptember 16, 2016college, schools

Why urban schools aren't as bad as you think

In this follow-up to his 2015 podcast interview, Steven Shultis shares his perspective on raising a family in a walkable neighborhood and choosing to send his kids to an urban school.

Top Story, Podcast, #StrongCitizensStrong TownsSeptember 15, 2016schools, Steven Shultis

A Century Long Experiment in Higher Education

There’s just no reason why a four-year college degree should cost anything like what it does. Here's a different model.

Finance, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoSeptember 15, 2016schools, college, New Jersey, rural, Farming

Why Talent Matters to Cities

This data shows that if you want a successful economy, you have to have a talented population.

Member Post, Top StoryJoe CortrightSeptember 15, 2016City Observatory, education, schools

Is this new high school really an upgrade?

A new high school is heralded as a model of innovation, but it's part of a depressing trend in modern school planning: isolated facilities on the unwalkable fringe.

Walkability, Member Post, Urban Design, Top Story, SchoolsMatt SteeleSeptember 15, 2016schools, Minnesota, Safe Routes to Schools, page highlight

An Interview with Steven Shultis on Urban Schools

In this podcast interview, Steve Shultis shares his perspective on raising a family in a walkable neighborhood and choosing to send his kids to an urban school.

Top Story, Podcast, #StrongCitizensStrong TownsSeptember 14, 2016schools, Steven Shultis, poverty, race

Educational Efficiency

Like so much of our modern world, we seem to have boiled education down to a series of discrete inputs and outputs. This is convenient for making measurements, but I’m not convinced we have obtained any more wisdom about collectively raising productive, intelligent children in the last two centuries of public schools in the US than our distant ancestors.