Copy What You Know Works

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to create places that aren’t bad—and that should be the first and foremost goal for a city.

#PlaceIDontWanttoSit, Herriges, Urban Design, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMarch 10, 2022placemaking, public space, urban design, design, greenspace, public engagement

What Have Cities *Actually* Accomplished in the Past 100 Years?

The modern conceit is that we are far more advanced than the people of past generations—but how do our cities really stack up against those of the past?

Urban Design, Zoning, Top StoryKevin KlinkenbergMarch 2, 2022history, urban planning, planning profession, urban design, Kansas City, missouri, Missouri, zoning

Cities, Stop Bending the Rules for Drive-Thru Businesses

Cities should not be afraid to impose design standards that meet the community’s needs and that don’t jeopardize long-term planning for the public realm.

Herriges, Urban Design, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesFebruary 23, 2022cars, car culture, urban design, #PedestrianUnfriendly, business, urbanism, design

Two Highways and Two Eras in New Jersey

These two highways in New Jersey run parallel and very close to each other—and traveling along them allows a sustained view of two different development approaches.

Roads and Streets, Urban Design, Top StoryAddison Del MastroFebruary 17, 2022roads, New Jersey, Addison Del Mastro, Development, development, development pattern, suburbanization, traditional development pattern, urban design, urban planning

Let Main Streets Be Main Streets

A community should determine what kind of community it wants to be, not unelected DOT engineers.

Forget What You Know About Public Engagement

It’s no secret that the conventional process for public engagement in urban planning is broken. So, what should we be doing, instead?

Engagement, Planning Profession, Urban Design, Top StoryJames Rojas and John KampFebruary 2, 2022public engagement, planning process, urban planning, books, urban design, California

Renderings vs. Reality: A Roundup of 2021s Most Egregious Development Illustrations

If a picture can say a thousand words, it can probably also tell at least 100 lies—as demonstrated by these development projects that did not turn out as promised.

Fisher, Transportation, Urban Design, Walkability, Top StoryLauren FisherJanuary 10, 2022urban design, #PedestrianUnfriendly, pedestrian crossing, Diverging Diamond, intersections, pedestrians, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, design, walkability

Lessons from Magnolia’s “Village”

Surprise, surprise: Americans love dense, walkable places connected to a sense of history.

Member Post, Urban Design, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedNovember 30, 2021Texas, urban design, tourism, master planned

The Urban Experiment

We all know about the Suburban Experiment here at Strong Towns—but are we now also starting to see the rise of a new paradigm?

Member Post, Suburban Experiment, Urban Design, Top StoryKevin KlinkenbergNovember 22, 2021Kevin Klinkenberg, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, development pattern, urban design, fragility, design, urban planning

Planning Without Plans

In everyday life, people usually say “I need a plan” if something has gone wrong. Plans should play a similar role in cities.

Incrementalism, Member Post, Planning Profession, Urban Design, Walkability, Top StoryTristan ClevelandNovember 3, 2021planning profession, planning process, urban planning, urban design, walkability, incrementalism

Our Self-Imposed Scarcity of Nice Places

Why is it that when a place is [pick one: walkable, bikeable, beautiful, lovable, inviting, human-scale], it so often gets coded as being “gentrified” or “upscale”?

Herriges, Urban Design, Walkability, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesNovember 3, 2021urbanism, urban design, walkability, gentrification, Gentrification

Planning Is a Bigger Job Than Planning Can Do

Planning must become a job that planners can actually do in a 40-hour work week. This will require a different approach to planning, altogether.

Incrementalism, Member Post, Planning Profession, Urban Design, Top StoryTristan ClevelandNovember 2, 2021planning profession, urban planning, urban design, history, History, halifax, incrementalism, complexity, Complexity

Movie Set Urbanism: Revisited

What do we find when we look behind the "New Urbanist" façade of this master-planned development?

Herriges, Neighborhood Design, Parking, Suburban Experiment, Urban Design, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 13, 2021urban design, urban planning, urbanism, New Urbanism, Parking, parking, suburbs

Engineers Should Not Design Streets: A Programmer's Take

Software engineers don’t design user interface, so why do we let civil engineers design streets?

Cities Are for Older People, Too

Aging in American culture comes with the association of loneliness, dependence, and isolation. If cites were designed differently, this wouldn’t have to be the case.