What's It Like Being Stranded in Your City? (Part 2)

In walkable cities, it’s not hard to find a solution if you find yourself stranded. But what about in a car-dependent place?

Owens, Transportation, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedApril 4, 2023travel, Europe, urban design, hospitality, car dependency, auto-oriented, Texas, transit

Where’s My Flying Car? Who Cares?

New technologies can solve problems—or make them worse. In the chase for technofixes like flying cars, it's important to know when to pump the brakes.

End Highway Expansion, Top StoryTony DutzikFebruary 24, 2023car culture, cars, car dependency, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, history, highways, End Highway Expansion, technology

Governor Parson Proposes $859 Million Driving Subsidy

Missouri’s governor is stuck on a mid-20th-century economic model, wherein connecting cities via interstates provides big economic returns. But such a mindset is going to do a lot more harm than good in today’s world.

End Highway Expansion, News, Top StoryRichard BoseFebruary 16, 2023missouri, car dependency, induced demand, End Highway Expansion, highways, subsidies

Don’t Just Add Trains, Sidewalks, and Bike Lanes to Your City

…Because effective public transit isn’t just about the rails; it’s about what happens around them.

Owens, Public Transit, Transportation, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedJanuary 3, 2023transit, public transit, New Mexico, transportation, car dependency

"The Street Project" Is a Great Warmup for a Street Fight

This film makes a human rights case for safer streets, while showing the historic roots of safe streets advocacy in the U.S. and the power of tactical urbanism.

Build Galesburg for People, Not Cars

Galesburg, IL, is talking about Strong Towns ideas, centered around a question that many Strong Towns readers are familiar with: “Is our downtown built for cars instead of people?”

Sheppard, Urban Design, Top StorySeairra SheppardAugust 23, 2022downtown, Small Towns, main street, car dependency, auto-oriented, people centered places, design, Illinois, incrementalism, bottom-up

When It Comes to Child Safety, We Deserve Better Than Car Seats

With a baby on the way, I’ve been lectured multiple times about safe car seats, and heard nothing about how to minimize the most dangerous activity people do with their children: drive.

Quednau, Transportation, Top StoryRachel QuednauAugust 8, 2022Safety, children, car culture, car dependency, cars, auto-oriented, car crash, walkability, transportation

Indianapolis Transit Design Prioritizes People Over Parking

Leadership in Indianapolis has taken strides toward lifting parking minimums, and making their city less car dependent and more transit friendly—all while keeping their fiscal house in order.

Urban3, Public Transit, Success Story, Top StoryKerry HayesAugust 2, 2022Urban3, transit, public transit, Indiana, Indianapolis, car dependency, incrementalism, Infrastructure, buses, Light Rail, transportation, success, success stories

"We Won't Raise Our Kids in Suburbia"

In this Not Just Bikes video, Jason Slaughter explains how raising children in the suburbs significantly restricts their ability to be independent.

Suburban Experiment, Video, Top StoryJay StangeJune 23, 2022suburbs, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, suburbanization, Not Just Bikes, children, Safety, safety, car dependency, car culture

Less Parking Lots, More People Space

This interactive map allows you to view just how much space is being wasted in your city (and in the rest of the U.S.) on parking lots.

Are Cars Here to Stay?

A recent article states that “real progress on climate change will require innovations that some on the left won’t like.” What’s the Strong Towns response?

Upzoned, Podcast, Transportation, Top StoryStrong TownsMay 4, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, cars, car dependency, Climate Change, climate, Electric Vehicles, politics

Hunched Beneath the Airport Flight Path: Terrible Places to Work, Even Worse to Get To

This Not Just Bikes video takes a look at airport business parks as an interesting (and infuriating) case study for places designed for cars instead of people

Video, Urban Design, Top StoryJay StangeApril 26, 2022Not Just Bikes, car culture, car dependency, auto-oriented, #PedestrianUnfriendly, urban design, business parks

Northern Virginia Highway Plans Would Fuel a Massive Increase in Driving

North Virginia will make multi-billion dollar decisions this year on the region’s transportation future—decisions that are only going to induce more driving.

#NoNewRoads, Transportation, Upzoned, Top StoryBill PughApril 25, 2022car dependency, car culture, transportation, transportation spending, Washington DC, induced demand, highways, highway spending, freeways, freeway widening, #NoNewRoads, Virginia

High Gas Prices Are Just One Symptom of a Much Greater Problem

When gas prices spike, the core issue we, as a nation, should be fixating on is car dependency.

Herriges, Transportation, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMarch 17, 2022gas tax, transportation, public transit, transit, fragility, cars, car dependency

Our Fragile System Runs on Cheap Oil

Every time gasoline and oil prices spike, Americans panic—but don’t do anything to change the system. This is a cycle that cannot continue.

Upzoned, Podcast, Transportation, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 16, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, fragility, cars, car dependency, transportation

Sowing Our Roads with Salt Is No Way to Grow Stronger Towns

Because we depend so heavily on cars, what happens when roads become too icy to drive on? The answer: road salt. But there are serious consequences to relying on salt for road-clearing.

Peter Norton: The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving

Technology historian Peter Norton talks about why we need to be more skeptical toward the utopian promises of self-driving cars.

ST Podcast, Podcast, Transportation, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 17, 2022Podcast, podcast, cars, car culture, car dependency, auto-oriented, automated vehicles, autonomous vehicles, Autonomous Vehicles, books

The Death of a Car City

Michel Durand-Wood takes us on a hilarious walk through the stages of grief as he puts a financial spike in the heart of his beloved city’s unsustainable 2050 Master Plan.