The Suburbs Will Thrive or Fail on Their Own Terms

The society that built Main Street is long gone. Is it time to move on to Plan B?

Maintenance, Sanphillippo, Suburban Experiment, Member Post, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJuly 12, 2021real estate, suburbs, homeowners, Homeownership, Granola Shotgun, Wisconsin, Madison

It's Time to Bring Decision-Making Down to the Local Level (Part 2)

Local decision-making must become more accessible to everyday people. Here's how to make that happen in your place.

Dukes, Local Government, Member Post, Neighborhoods, Politics, Top StoryAlexander DukesJune 29, 2021local government, local regulation, Municipalism, subsidiarity, neighborhood, Neighborhoods

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... a Small Business Owner and Community Leader

Strong Towns member Haile McCollum is helping make her community of Thomasville, Georgia, more resilient and more beloved.

Podcast, Taking Action, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Member Post, Membership, Top StoryStrong TownsJune 24, 2021The Bottom-Up Revolution, Georgia, local business, arts, small, taking action

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

Housing, Not Lodging

Annapolis's downtown has become dominated by short-term rentals, and it’s beginning to degrade the community’s social capital.

Member Post, Community, Housing, Neighborhoods, Top StoryAlex PlineJune 16, 2021housing, tourism, social capital, downtown, Alex Pline, annapolis

The Cost of Adaptation Is Too Damn High

One of the realities about cities is that they change—but in America, most cities are trapped in a regulatory environment that makes change extremely costly.

Member Post, Zoning, Suburban Experiment, Neighborhoods, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedJune 15, 2021local regulation, resilience, neighborhood change, fragility, zoning

Cognitive Comfort and Visual Clutter: Is it Time we Started Regulating Style?

We must start adapting our architectural designs to the instincts of our species, rather than the other way around.

Architecture, Member Post, Urban Design, Top StoryDustin ShaneJune 4, 2021Ann Sussman, Justin Hollander, architecture, cognitive architecture, aesthetics, design, modernism

Potty Talk

Let's talk about public facilities. What do they say about our cities and about the various layers of our society?

Member Post, Public Space, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoMay 18, 2021public space, public health

5 Reasons Why Walking Your City (Most Likely) Sucks

Although many of us agree that walkability makes sense for countless reasons, few of us actually walk the cities where we live. Why? Because it sucks.

#SlowtheCars, Walkability, Transportation, Roads and Streets, Member Post, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedMay 18, 2021walkability, sidewalks, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrians

How Social Capital Helps Build Strong Local Economies

Social capital isn’t as easy to build these days, but it can still be done, and should be done, for the sake of our communities.

Community, Neighborhoods, Member Post, Top StoryPatricia RattrayMay 14, 2021community, community building, community engagement, social capital, local economy

Want to build a strong town? Make it work for people with disabilities.

Significant effort should be dedicated to creating more accessible built environments—because doing so benefits people of all abilities.

Infrastructure, Member Post, Public Space, Urban Design, Walkability, Top StorySteve WrightMay 7, 2021disability, Infrastructure, walkability, Justice, #PedestrianUnfriendly

Missing Middle and My Grandmother

The benefits to a bottom-up approach to affordable housing don’t just build wealth and resilience; they can be deeply personal, too.

Housing, Zoning, Member Post, Top StoryMarlene DrukerMay 7, 2021housing, housing affordability, housing cost, housing policy, bottom-up

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Promoting More Housing, More Options, More Access

These Strong Towns members are helping build homes for those that need them and advocating for more flexible housing policy in Texas.

Podcast, Taking Action, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Member Post, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsMay 6, 2021The Bottom-Up Revolution, housing policy, Texas, member story, taking action

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Reactivating a Historic Space for the Whole Community

Alex Rodriguez and Danny Lapin are incrementally revitalizing a historic space for entrepreneurs, artists and community members in rural Lexington, NY.