The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...a Neighborhood Person

Gracen Johnson is a dedicated Strong Towns member who’s connecting with her neighbors and working on housing issues in Canada.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Housing, Neighborhoods, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 27, 2022taking action, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Canada, neighborhood revitalization

Legalize the Village

The author of Happy City helped build a home that addressed some of the greatest challenges of our times. But his home is illegal almost everywhere in his city—and in your city, too.

Housing, Zoning, Top StoryCharles MontgomeryDecember 16, 2021Homeownership, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, Housing, housing cost, co-housing, canada, Canada, Vancouver BC, zoning, upzoning

Holy Leaping Dollars, Batman!

Unless we start making better accounting choices today, we’ll be facing service cuts and tax increases every year going forward. …That is, until the day we can’t anymore.

A Stroad Called "Wonderland"

This new Not Just Bikes video features an Ontario stroad that’s anything but wonderful.

#NoNewRoads, Pattison, Roads and Streets, Transportation, Top StoryJohn PattisonOctober 28, 2021STROADS, Not Just Bikes, Ontario, canada, Canada, suburban development pattern, roads, #NoNewRoads

Traffic Deaths Aren't "Meant to Be"

Our broken transportation system wasn’t pre-ordained; it was built out of the choices we’ve made. And we need to start making better ones if we want to fix it.

#SlowtheCars, Member Post, Roads and Streets, Transportation, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodOctober 4, 2021Safety, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, STROADS, Street Design, streets, canada, Canada, Winnipeg, transportation, #SlowTheCars

Could You Move In Next Door?

Given our current pattern of development, is it overly romantic to want to transition through the stages of life while remaining in the same neighborhood, with the same people around us?

Housing, Member Post, Top StoryNorman Van Eeden PetersmanJune 23, 2021Canada, British Columbia, member story, success stories, missing middle, housing, ADUs, aging in place

How People-Centered Is Toronto's "People-Centered" Vision?

Google’s Sidewalk Labs pulled out of Toronto’s Quayside project. But does Toronto’s new vision for the project really put people at the center?

Podcast, Urban Design, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 24, 2021canada, Canada, Toronto, smart cities

All In Good Time

Halifax spent decades pursuing the fragile-making suburban experiment. How should it move forward from here?

Suburban Experiment, Sanphillippo, 10th Anniversary, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoFebruary 26, 2021halifax, nova scotia, Canada, suburban experiment

Doing the Math in Calgary

Calgary — like so many North American cities — is like an intergenerational dine-and-dash. Our children will get the bill.

#DotheMath, Success Story, Member Post, Top Story 2, Top StoryNathan HawrylukFebruary 23, 2021#DoTheMath, infrastructure cult, Alberta, Canada, member story, success stories

How to #DoTheMath for Non-Math Majors

You don’t have to be a math wizard to figure out if your town or city has more infrastructure than it can afford. Just follow these 5 simple steps.

#DotheMath, Success Story, Member Post, Top StoryNathan HawrylukFebruary 22, 2021#DoTheMath, infrastructure cult, Alberta, Canada, member story, success stories

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Working Together to Make a Street for People

How one urban advocate helped transform a downtown street into a pedestrian-friendly public space— plus tips for how you can do the same in your own city.

Podcast, Taking Action, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Walkability, Top Story, Roads and StreetsStrong TownsDecember 3, 2020The Bottom-Up Revolution, streets, open streets, Canada, local business, downtown, taking action

Will Edmonton Be the First Major Canadian City to Eliminate Parking Minimums?

Minimum parking requirements are expensive, waste space, and waste opportunities. Edmonton seems poised to do something about it.

ParkingAshley SalvadorMay 14, 2020parking minimums, Canada, edmonton, parking

It's All Downhill from Here

The slide into municipal insolvency isn’t as fun as they made it sound. It’s time for cities to #DoTheMath.

Top Story, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Finance, #DotheMathMichel Durand-WoodJanuary 28, 2020land tax, tax revenue, Winnipeg, Canada, Growth Ponzi Scheme, budget, #DoTheMath

Three Things I’ve Learned in My Local Coffee Shop

Coffee shops have a lot to teach us about our neighborhoods and the people we share them with. Here are three of them.

Local Food, Neighborhoods, Top StorySteve MacDouellJanuary 22, 2020Third Places, coffee shops, local business, small business, Canada, Ontario

Three Neighborly Goals for 2020

These simple resolutions can have a major impact on your town or city this year.

Neighborhoods, Top StorySteve MacDouellJanuary 9, 2020Neighborhoods, Ontario, Canada, new years resolutions

Recipe for a Remarkable Neighborhood

There are eight qualities of a remarkable “everyday neighborhood.” How many does your neighborhood have?

Neighborhood Design, Top StoryPreston PouteauxNovember 8, 2019Emily Talen, Canada, Alberta, Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods

If It Looks Like a Debt, and It Quacks Like a Debt, Then It Must Be a…Zombie?

Maybe the one good thing you can say about municipal debt is that it’s on the balance sheets. We’re tracking it. But there is another type of future obligation that is like debt…only worse. It comes back again and again, and too many cities aren’t paying attention.

Growth Ponzi Scheme, The Infrastructure Cult, Finance, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodOctober 31, 2019Growth Ponzi Scheme, Infrastructure, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Municipal Debt, halloween, municipal finance

Why Massive Piles of Cash Can Be Bad for Both Companies and Cities

Easy money and uncontentious budget meetings sound nice in theory. But private and public sectors beware: lack of stressors can make decision-makers undisciplined and obscure huge bills that are sure to come due.

Finance, Top StoryTristan ClevelandOctober 8, 2019Canada, Toronto, Hazel McCallion, antifragile, public investment, budget, Nassim Taleb

"The Good Life is A Long Journey Across A Narrow Street"

It's easy to get into a rut and miss the beauty and promise of our places. Here's how beekeeping led one writer to discover that the neighborhood can hold the key to our sense of purpose, hope and joy.

Neighborhoods, Top StoryPreston PouteauxSeptember 19, 2019neighborhood, beekeeping, Alberta, Canada

Want to Show People What Their City Could Be? Build It.

A leading infill developer in Victoria, BC is building beautiful homes that address the housing crisis and make neighborhoods stronger. They’re also changing the conversation about what’s possible.