Fred Rogers has never felt more necessary, perhaps especially for people working to build stronger communities.
Read More
People might think of city life as necessarily “hard.” But the creative director at a Copenhagen-based urban design firm begs to differ. There are a few simple principles that can “soften” our city, drawing us closer together and radically improving our quality of life.
Read More
We’ve all heard it: Americans today are incapable of civil conversation. But for decades one urban neighborhood has been confounding expectations. For them, conversation has not only proven possible, it’s become the foundation for building a stronger, more resilient and better connected neighborhood.
Read More
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.
Read More
Reclaiming the art of neighboring may be the closest thing we have to a solution for the social isolation, the political polarization, and the superficial relationships that plague our neighborhoods. To make our communities stronger and more connected, here are three shifts we all need to make.
Read More
The values often labeled “urbanism” are really about living the kind of locally-centered life that’s easier on your wallet, the environment, and your health—and that makes our communities more prosperous and resilient as well. But do you need to move downtown to be an urbanist? Absolutely not.
Read More
Denton, Texas seemed to be on the verge of an important step toward financial resilience: allowing its core neighborhoods to incrementally evolve and provide much-needed new housing. Now, is the city on the verge of moving in the wrong direction instead?
Read More
In this episode of our podcast It’s the Little Things, Jacob chats with Jordan Deffenbaugh—primary organizer of the Local Conversation Strong Towns Sioux Falls—about how you can spread the Strong Towns message locally, including how to spread the vision among your neighbors, how to give your neighbors a sense of ownership in the process, and, most important, how to get into the nitty-gritty of making your city or town stronger.
Read More
In this episode of our podcast It’s the Little Things, Jacob chats with Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn about how you can get ideas for making your neighborhood stronger, including how both the concerned citizen and the public official can act on ideas, how to share them with your tribe, and how to take the next incremental step in making your neighborhood stronger.
Read More
In this episode of our podcast It’s the Little Things, Jacob chats with Caitlin Bigelow—Founder of Maxable Space—about how you can build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), including how to check the required zoning, encourage your peer that ADUs are a strong way to build your neighborhood, and discover the benefits beyond passive rental income.
Read More
Communities of faith stand in an important position to support vibrant, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods; and in recent years, some have stepped up to the challenge at a variety of different scales.
Read More
One of the best ways to deeply understand the place you live is to slow down—way down—the way you get around it.
Read More
When the housing market is depressed and you can’t get a return on your investment, there is little incentive to put any money into improvements. It’s a vicious cycle that several Akron nonprofits are trying to break.
Read More
When a neighborhood commercial street comes back to life, the whole city benefits.
Read More
How can city governments and neighborhood groups work together effectively to make their town stronger?
Read More
What two very different reviews of the same movie can tell us about the state of the American political divide.
Read More
Front porches direct us outside of ourselves, connect us with our neighbors and create a foundation for collective flourishing.
Read More
If you want to make your neighborhood a better place, you have to get outside and meet the people around you. Here are 9 ideas to get you started.
Read More
In a society where fracture resides around every corner, this slice of neighborly life is a reminder that civility isn’t dead.
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