What if we moved beyond temporary "open streets" events and used what we learned there to make lasting changes to our street design?

#SlowtheCars, Hood, Roads and Streets, Top Story, Urban Design, Top EvergreenNathaniel M. HoodFebruary 28, 2017Street Design, Minneapolis, streets

Poor Neighborhoods Make the Best Investments

We can make low risk, high returning investments in our cities while improving the quality of life for people, particularly those who are not benefiting from the current approach.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Marohn, Greatest Hits, For Newcomers, Top EvergreenCharles MarohnJanuary 11, 2017poverty, page highlight, newcomerspage, #DoTheMath, Value Per Acre

The Real Reason Your City Has No Money

Problems have solutions. Predicaments have outcomes. We're in a predicament.

#InfrastructureCrisis, Marohn, Top Story, Greatest Hits, For Newcomers, Top EvergreenCharles MarohnJanuary 10, 2017Urban3, Lafayette, page highlight, newcomerspage, #DoTheMath, suburban experiment, Value Per Acre

Five Low Cost Ideas to Make Your City Wealthier

Improving a city doesn't take a lot of money. It just takes courage.

Marohn, #InfrastructureCrisis, Top EvergreenCharles MarohnJanuary 4, 2017page highlight, Economic Development, Strong Citizenship

Lessons Learned

Last year I bought a $15,000 uninhabitable shack in Cincinnati, Ohio, hoping to renovate it into a nice two-story duplex for renters. Here's what went wrong.

Small Scale Developers, Sanphillippo, Housing, Top EvergreenJohnny SanphillippoNovember 9, 2016Ohio, Strong Citizenship, housing, Economic Development

A Suburban Poverty Boomtown: Lehigh Acres, Florida

This suburb is a growing place, but it's not a successful place. It risks becoming an increasingly isolating place full of people who are cut off from the economic mainstream.

Suburban Poverty, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Herriges, Housing, Transportation, Top EvergreenDaniel HerrigesAugust 17, 2016suburbs, Florida, suburban experiment, Ferguson, page highlight, housing

Reclaiming "Redneck" Urbanism: What Urban Planners can Learn from Trailer Parks

Trailer parks remain one of the last forms of housing in US cities provided by the market explicitly for low-income residents.

Zoning, Top Story, Housing, Gray, Top EvergreenNolan GrayAugust 12, 2016Tiny House, affordable housing, poverty, page highlight, housing

One key strategy to make New York more affordable

These places all have many of the physical elements needed for success, quite frankly, because they were built for it originally. What they need most is people; people that care about the place and have the energy to make it better.

Zoning, Walkability, Urban Design, Member Post, Housing, Top EvergreenKevin KlinkenbergAugust 4, 2016traditional development pattern, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Portland OR, Maine, Millennials, zoning

Letting go of Suburbia

Suburbia cannot and will not be retrofitted to a substantially different model of development. But a small portion may be salvageable.

Big Box Stores, Member Post, Top Story, Top EvergreenNathan LewisJuly 20, 2016suburbs, suburban retrofit, traditional development pattern, development, shopping malls, page highlight, suburban experiment, housing

The Next Baby Boom: Affordable Urban Lifestyles for Millennials with Children

Tulsa, OK is one of the most unlikely suspects to attract urban, entrepreneurial millennials. Yet here we are.

#StrongCitizens, Member Post, Top Story, Urban Design, Walkability, Top EvergreenJennifer GriffinJuly 1, 2016family, children, urbanism, Washington DC, New York, Millennials, mixed use, schools, page highlight, housing

The Magic of Tree-Lined Streets

Whether you care about the environment, energy savings, property values, public health, or your city’s bottom line--plant a tree by the street. You’ll make sweaty cyclists and pedestrians happy for generations to come.

Bikeability, Kobos, Neighborhood Design, Roads and Streets, Walkability, Top Story, Top EvergreenSarah KobosJune 27, 2016#PedestrianUnfriendly, environment, trees, streets

4 Stories That Will Make You Think Differently About Parking

No, your town doesn't need more parking. It probably needs less.

Urban Design, Transportation, Parking, Top EvergreenStrong TownsJune 14, 2016zoning, parking maximums, parking minimums, parking, big box stores

Narrow Streets Do More With Less

The recipe for a successful residential street is simple, timeless, and requires very little costly engineering.

Urban Design, Walkability, Roads and Streets, Herriges, Engineering Profession, #SlowtheCars, Top EvergreenDaniel HerrigesJune 6, 2016Complete Streets, narrow streets, Florida, streets

Places Where I Don't Want to Sit

We live in cities starved for good public space. There are so few spots in North America where you can sit comfortably for free. And when we do try to create sittable public space, we often fail spectacularly.

#PlaceIDontWanttoSit, Field Notes, #StrongCitizens, Top EvergreenGracen JohnsonMay 24, 2016seating, Joe Minicozzi, public space

4 Easy Steps to Squash the "There's No Parking" Argument

Here is a quick how-to guide for dealing with people who claim your city lacks adequate parking.

Parking, Hood, Urban Design, Top EvergreenNathaniel M. HoodMay 10, 2016resource, how to, St. Paul, urban design, page highlight, parking

One House at a Time on St. Paul's East Side

One historic home at a time, St. Paul, MN is demonstrating how a critical mass of Strong Citizens can be an incredible asset to a troubled area, and how local government can play a constructive role in the incremental revitalization of such an area.

Herriges, Housing, Small Scale Developers, Top Story, #StrongCitizens, #ChaoticButSmart, Jane Jacobs, Top EvergreenDaniel HerrigesMay 2, 2016St. Paul, historic preservation, Jane Jacobs, page highlight

Housing unaffordability is the result of artificial scarcity

When there is demand to live in an area, the market should naturally respond by increasing the supply of housing.

Andrew Price, Top Story, Housing, Top EvergreenAndrew PriceApril 22, 2016affordable housing, Hoboken, housing market, housing, page highlight

How to Encourage Entrepreneurship in Your Town

A strong town needs strong local businesses.

Zoning, Walkability, Quednau, Neighborhood Design, Top Story, Top EvergreenRachel QuednauApril 20, 2016Entrepreneurship, local government, small business, Economic Gardening, how to, resource, Strong Citizenship

Revitalization Of Small Cities: Challenges and Advantages

As small cities make their way back toward a former glory, they face a unique set of challenges in contrast to larger urban growth movements. However, they also enjoy some seldom-realized advantages that might not be obvious to the average onlooker.