Perhaps we should spend more time trying to understand and appreciate the humble, marginally better neighborhoods that are already tucked away in our cities. Here’s one such neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky.
Read More
Akron, Ohio’s subsidies for redevelopment of the failed Rolling Acres mall are a textbook case of the sunk cost fallacy: the tendency to examine new opportunities not on their own merit, but in the context of past investments.
Read More
This week, we shone a spotlight on the finances of Cobb County, Georgia, explored when building a parking garage might actually be a prudent move, dissected the meaning of “walkability,” and a longtime contributor argued that public engagement done wrong is not just pointless but actively harmful.
Read More
Cobb County, Georgia, has long been all-in on debt-fueled, unsustainable growth, and faces a tough road ahead as poverty grows and its ability to provide services declines. What are some rational responses to this predicament?
Read More
“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
Read More
We have chosen a rural life—who pays for our infrastructure? The short answer is: we don't have much of it, but we take care of our own needs. Strong towns require strong citizens: people who learn to take control of their lives and do for themselves things that are doable.
Read More
Today we've got the video and audio from a recent Ask Strong Towns webcast conversation featuring President and founder Chuck Marohn and Communications Director Kea Wilson.
Read More
Cobb County, GA is a classic case of misplaced priorities. What could $400 million for a baseball stadium have achieved had it gone toward investing in citizens’ needs and achieving real wealth?
Read More
Homeownership is supposed to be the path to wealth and a comfortable retirement, but for millions of Americans, it never was. One central reason is that we’ve embraced a development pattern in which new places cannibalize the wealth of old places.
Read More
Policy choices are often presented to us as simplistic binaries, or irresolvable clashes of competing values. Have the courage to step outside that box and ask more fundamental questions.
Read More
Typically, the thought of converting an old subway tunnel into parking would send shivers down the spines of urbanists. But this project may be a surprisingly beneficial way to catalyze redevelopment in Rochester, New York’s recovering downtown.
Read More
Communities like Cobb County must address the problems that have plagued them from the outset by encouraging the style of development that produces true value per acre.
Read More
A tour of 6 successful towns helped one Strong Towns member to better understand what makes a community resilient. His journey offers lessons for all of us.
Read More
County leadership continually brags about its low tax rate and high amount of services. But if you doubt the fundamental math behind that equation, there’s no need to look behind the curtain because the ratings agencies have given Cobb top marks.
Read More
Walkability is a word urbanists throw around, often with different ideas as to what it really means, or why we care about it. Let’s take a look at how safety, distance, convenience, and comfort affect it.
Read More
Nothing good comes of public engagement in which the public isn’t asked questions they can meaningfully contribute to answering. This is not how you build a trusting relationship: a strong foundation on which to work together. This is how you corrode trust.
Read More
When a city annexes surrounding land, it’s usually touted as a benefit for residents and municipal budgets. This could not be further from the truth. Here’s the data to prove it.
Read More
Why do places like Cobb County, Georgia keep spending more and more, while their municipal budgets go further and further into the red? This week at Strong Towns, we’re going to dig into the tale of Cobb County: a poster child for the Ponzi-scheme approach to growth.
Read More
This week, we discussed the challenges of public engagement, the value of small businesses and the diverging paths of two historic towns.
Read More
Those who benefit from an investment should pay for it. If they're unwilling to pay what it actually costs, it's a good sign that the project should never have happened in the first place.
Read More