About that Spirit Halloween Store You Always See Around This Time of Year...

It’s back. But why?

Big Box Stores, Quednau, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryRachel QuednauSeptember 29, 2021commercial real estate, suburban development pattern, blight, pop-up, big box stores

Confessions of (Another) Recovering Engineer

Fellow “recovering” engineer Kevin Shepherd offers his confessions: “Looking back now, I can say that many projects I designed actually hurt people and their communities.”

Member Post, Confessions Book, Engineering Profession, Planning Profession, Suburban Experiment, Transportation, Top StoryKevin ShepherdSeptember 20, 2021engineering profession, engineering ethics, traffic engineering, engineers, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, confessions book, member story

Walkability and the Culture Wars

A recent Vice article seems to suggest that most Americans don’t want more walkable places. Here’s why that takeaway is totally wrong.

Herriges, Suburban Experiment, Walkability, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 15, 2021walkability, suburbs, suburbanization, psychology, car culture

Grandpa’s Basement House

Somehow, as a society, we’ve drifted from ordinary people being able to build their own homes on a cash basis in an interactive, iterative way, to immense, hyper-elaborate habitats.

Member Post, Sanphillippo, Rural, Suburban Experiment, Incrementalism, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoAugust 13, 2021traditional development pattern, history, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, San Francisco, Nebraska, incremental development, incrementalism

The Question Every City Should Be Asking

Let’s #DoTheMath in Ramsey County, Minnesota.

#DotheMath, Suburban Experiment, Suburban Poverty, Zoning, Davis, Top StorySarah DavisAugust 4, 2021Value Per Acre, Urban3, Minnesota, St. Paul, suburban development pattern, traditional development pattern, #DoTheMath

Where Should We Be Focusing Climate Change Efforts?

If we continue toward a suburban development pattern, then should we move climate change efforts away from cities and to the suburbs, as well?

Upzoned, Podcast, Suburban Experiment, Coronavirus, Top StoryStrong TownsJuly 28, 2021Podcast, Upzoned, suburban experiment, climate, environment, canada

Stop Believing in "Bad" Neighborhoods

We must stop seeing poor neighborhoods as "bad" neighborhoods, and instead understand them as intrinsically goods ones, whose problems are addressable if we empowered the people who care about them.

Herriges, Neighborhoods, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 28, 2021Neighborhoods, poor neighborhoods, public investment, poverty, suburban experiment

How Does Removing Parking and Road Space Affect People With Disabilities?

Here are three reasons even those who heavily depend on car access right now need not fear a transition to less auto-centric places, and might still welcome it.

Herriges, Parking, Suburban Experiment, Transportation, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 22, 2021parking minimums, Parking, disability, Disability

COVID Reveals the Unsustainability of Monoculture Downtowns

COVID has changed the way people think about the future of office work. What does this mean for office-heavy downtowns?

Upzoned, Podcast, Coronavirus, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryStrong TownsJuly 21, 2021Podcast, Upzoned, coronavirus, downtown, suburban experiment

Johnny Sanphillippo: The Trajectory of Suburbia

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, we’ve invited back a popular past guest and regular Strong Towns contributor: Johnny Sanphillippo.

Podcast, Sanphillippo, Suburban Experiment, Suburban Poverty, Top Story, ST PodcastStrong TownsJuly 19, 2021Podcast, small scale developers, development pattern, suburban experiment, suburbs, complexity, complex systems

We'd Rather Have the Iceberg than the Ship

Exploring the property market in Appleton, WI, reveals the ephemeral nature of the North American development pattern.

Sanphillippo, Small Scale Developers, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoJuly 19, 2021development pattern, Wisconsin, Madison, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, blight, small-scale developers

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

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

Who Pays for Growth in Collier County, Florida: Part 2

Collier County's standards for new development on rural land repeatedly emphasize “innovative” growth...but when we look at their proposed mega-developments, it's really just business as usual.

Herriges, Rural, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 20, 2021collier county series, Florida, Development, rural, Urban3, suburban experiment

"Another Kind of Piñata You Can Be"

The suburban growth model might as well be called an extractive industry: it deals just as much of a beating to communities that embrace it.

Herriges, Suburban Experiment, Urban3, Top Story, Resource TrapDaniel HerrigesApril 7, 2021suburbs, colorado, Pueblo, Urban3, suburban experiment, Resource Trap - Case Studies

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

What the House-Hunting Process Taught Me about the Suburban Experiment

House hunting—even online—puts the effects of the suburban development pattern on full display.

Quednau, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryRachel QuednauFebruary 11, 2021Madison, Wisconsin, real estate, suburban development pattern, traditional development pattern, development pattern

Wasting Time, Wasting Money

What’s the cost of wasting 12 years?

Marohn, Suburban Experiment, Top Story 2, Top StoryCharles MarohnFebruary 8, 2021suburban experiment, South Carolina

Bad Bets

Cities are betting big on the Suburban Experiment, assuming the market or federal government will be able to bail them out. Those are bad bets and risky assumptions.

Suburban Experiment, Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 1, 2021risk, suburban experiment