This week we examined what the design of our places says about isolation and social trust, and why that matters when tragedy strikes. We explored the value of bottom-up experimentation in cities; celebrated a victory for free speech and public input; questioned whether all growth counts as economic development; debated a controversial solution to affordable housing shortages, and more.
Read MoreAlmost every suburban house has one. But is the home garage an American institution or a national disgrace?
Read MoreYour Strong Towns Knowledge Base answer of the week! We want to help you get the answers you need to apply Strong Towns ideas in your own town or city. And we want you to chime in and share your own expertise, too.
Read MoreSacramento’s vice mayor gave Strong Towns founder Charles Marohn a shout-out in announcing the city’s new transit-oriented development rules. Our message is making a difference in the world.
Read MoreEven where transit service exists, older adults often face significant barriers to using it for a safe, comfortable, and predictable trip. Surveys of seniors’ transit needs suggest dozens of small, incremental changes that could improve access.
Read MoreIn this episode of our podcast It’s the Little Things, Jacob chats with Jenna Jarvis—environmental engineer out of St. Louis, Strong Towns member, and winner of our Why I Joined Strong Towns fall member drive contest—about how you can start decide which of our ideas to implement first, including how to start small, how to get your peers involved, and how to keep the momentum going as you plan new actions.
When a new brewpub, restaurant, or entertainment venue opens in your town, is this a sign of growth, or merely a shift in where patrons spend their dollars? And what does that imply about cities that subsidize such things?
Read MoreHistorically, a decentralized, trial-and-error process was how cities “discovered” which urban design features worked best for their own circumstances. Let’s look at the evolution of front setbacks in New York to understand how this works.
Read MoreRemember that engineer who was fined in Oregon for saying, “I am an engineer”? He won in court. Again.
Read MoreProfessional planners are trained to yearn for tighter urban design controls, as if cities without comprehensive, top-down planning would devolve into chaos and disorder. In reality, cities evolve according to mechanisms that allow us to gradually discover optimal urban design across time.
Read MoreWhen it comes to infrastructure spending, politicians on both ends of the political spectrum get it wrong—but in different ways.
Read MoreThe story of Jayme Closs should give us cause to hug our children a little tighter, but then to love them enough to send them out boldly into the world.
Read MoreThis week we looked at how to design streets to slow cars without speed enforcement; how traffic engineers still don’t know how to think like pedestrians; what we can and can’t control about urban growth; the myriad benefits of local bookstores; the far more dubious benefits of dollar stores; and more.
Read MoreNew Jersey has been using a “cap and trade” model to let single family neighborhoods buy their way out of growth for decades. Should your city follow suit?
Read MoreThe Strong Towns Knowledge Base is where we bring you answers and practical advice tailored to questions you submit, by crowd-sourcing the collective wisdom of our movement. Every Friday morning, we’ll be spotlighting something new from it.
Read MoreEver heard road tolls described as punitive to lower-income commuters? Don’t decry them until we fix, or at least acknowledge, these ten other things that are even more inequitable about the way we pay for transportation.
Read MoreIn the new year, why not consider a few activities that you can complete in a single day that will help you see your town differently? Let’s call it the #StrongTownsChallenge. And don’t worry: there’s no ice water involved.
Read MoreIn this episode of our podcast It’s the Little Things, Jacob chats with Caroline Dobbins-Hurteau—staff member at Albion Reinvestment Corporation—about how you can start a successful pop-up shop, including how to pitch the idea to downtown organizations, how to find prospective tenants, and, most important, how to make it an incremental yet lasting success in your city or town.
Read MoreThe pitfalls of rapid growth are real. But trying to micromanage how, where, and even if our cities are allowed to grow is not the answer.
Read MoreCan a humble corner bookstore make your city wealthier and more resilient? These small businesses have surprising staying power—and in many ways are an indicator species of a strong neighborhood.
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