Winning is the Absence of Losing

The most important thing for a local government is to avoid ruin.

Marohn, Top Story, StrategiesCharles MarohnAugust 20, 2018antifragile, Risk, #OrderlyButDumb, page highlight

Where is our republic headed?

The line between optimism and reality can be a fine one to walk.

Patterns of Home, Importance of Homeyness

You cannot build a place of enduring value that isn't homey, that isn't loved.

It Takes Money to Make Money?

We never calculate—let alone track—the public's actual return-on-investment (dollars in versus dollars out over multiple life cycles) when we do a project. We never even ask the question.

Engineering Profession, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 8, 2016antifragile, Risk, Megaprojects

The Fragility of Agency

The trials and tribulations of getting things done, and why change is so difficult for government agencies.

Reintroducing Risk

Reintroducing some risk, or rather, making the risk that is already there more evident, may be the best thing we can do to help re-build a culture where small mistakes don’t have devastating consequences.

What should a city be? (Pt. 2)

To build antifragile communities, we need to start by talking about what kind of place we want our cities to be.

Member Post, Top StoryMarielle BrownJuly 13, 2016antifragile, local government

3 Ways to Make Streets Safer for Pedestrians

Pedestrian activity is an indicator of vibrant neighborhoods and a healthy local economy. How can we transform our streets so that pedestrians feel safe and drivers are attentive and courteous to their needs?

Talking about Antifragility (Pt. 1)

The history of city planning is largely a story of meddling and overreaction creating ever more fragile cities by reducing any apparent volatility while increasing debt, building out a system that is not financially productive, and ruining the neighborhoods of our most disadvantaged residents.

The Antifragile Outlier Broken Window Black Swan Tipping Point

Strong Towns contributor, Johnny Sanphillippo kicks off our Antrifragile book club week with this critique of the antifragile concept and commentary on the challenges of actually implementing it

Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJuly 11, 2016antifragile, local government, economics

Antifragile Book Club Update

Announcing the next convening of the Strong Towns Antifragile book club.

Top StoryStrong TownsJuly 1, 2016antifragile, book club

No Skin in the Game

The very act of the destruction meant a job for the planners and engineers. They would be paid regardless. If the project was fraught with delays, obstructions and unexpected events they might even be paid more.

Member PostGreg McPhersonJune 17, 2016antifragile, Urban Renewal

A promise impossible to keep

What is going on in the doughnut of despair surrounding downtown Detroit is not a policy choice. It is a consequence of policy choice. There is no bringing back the illusion of wealth or, to paraphrase Tomas Sedlacek, Detroit can not get back its unsustainability.

CNU, MarohnCharles MarohnJune 13, 2016Detroit, antifragile, Nassim Taleb, Tomas Sedlacek

Antifragility of the Valley

How the stressors in the harsh environment of the Phoenix area have created antifragility.

Top StoryJeff GibbsJune 3, 2016antifragile

The Perils of Forecasting

We still tend to evaluate large-scale projects based on a mountain of assumptions about associated impacts. Change the assumptions and the ‘value’ of a project can change dramatically.

#DotheMath, Member Post, Top StoryZvi LeveJune 3, 2016antifragile, Megaprojects

The Convenience Factor

Instead of allowing challenges that would normally make businesses resilient to economic struggles and the forces of the market, we are doubling down on policies that create convenience -- endangering the antifragility of the whole for the sake of the unit.

Top Story, Member PostVincent TiceJune 2, 2016antifragile, Black Swan

An antifragile ecosystem of cities

If you have an approach with a 50% chance of success or failure, would you rather it be tried out at the state level with everyone succeeding or failing at the same time? Or, would you rather it be tried out at the neighborhood level, where failures are small and contained?