Most cities’ zoning and development regulations obsess over things that are easy to measure, like building height and density, at the expense of the things that actually determine whether we’re building quality places.
Read More
Take a photo tour of some great streets in Syracuse and see what makes the traditional development pattern work so well on the ground.
Read More
One of the reasons Ocean Grove, New Jersey has endured intact is the presence of a religious community that had a higher calling and a longer event horizon than the dominant secular culture. There are lessons to be learned here even by people who may not identify with the church.
Read More
Your town's streets are its vital organs. A great street can make a place, and a badly-designed street can kill a place. We want you to tell us about a street you love that makes your town a stronger, more resilient place.
Read More
An assisted-living facility in Ohio offers a nostalgic, Norman Rockwell-esque setting modeled on traditional neighborhoods—the very sort of beloved, timeless places that we’ve all but stopped building in the real world.
Read More
The history of Spokane, Washington is a microcosm of what American cities as a whole have experienced. Spokane has lessons to teach us, including the power of incremental (but rapid) growth.
Read More
The scale and value of what we’ve sacrificed in order to build parking lots and highways is staggering. Only by understanding that loss can we figure out how to build stronger towns.
Read More
Architects and CNU leaders, Andres Duany and Kevin Klinkenberg pull back the curtain on Savannah, GA.
Read More
When a neighborhood commercial street comes back to life, the whole city benefits.
Read More
The current design of our cities is a lose-lose for business owners and residents.
Read More
Can we afford to build incrementally when the problems we face are so enormous?
Read More
The auto-oriented development pattern is an approach with limited financial upside and lots of downside. How much better does traditional development perform?
Read More
These 5 steps will help you test the development potential in your town.
Read More
A Complete Neighborhood is one where, outside of commuting to work or spending a night out, you can get everything you need within walking distance.
Read More
We can find practical examples of great communities far away from San Francisco or Copenhagen.
Read More
If our historic downtowns had to follow present-day parking minimum laws, they would never be built.
Read More
The key to building a stronger town is cultivating dynamic household economies. Cities across the globe have mastered this. Why can't we?
Read More
America's pre-Depression development pattern relied on exploitation of workers, poor living conditions and exclusion of women and minorities. How is the Strong Towns approach, which advocates for traditional development patterns, different?
Read More
The traditional development pattern has tremendous financial upside and limited financial downside. In contrast, the suburban approach has limited financial upside and a downside that can literally go negative.
Read More
It is incrementally rising land values, combined with the ability to redevelop to something more intense, that naturally prompts the redevelopment of property in decline. Take away one of those two factors and redevelopment breaks down.
Read More