An Abandoned Downtown Equals a Pot of Gold?

Developers are starting to view downtown abandoned office buildings as easy cash—that is, if you can find the right sort of abandoned office.

Podcast, Upzoned, Top Story 2Strong TownsMay 3, 2023Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, developers, development pattern, downtown, redevelopment

What a Real Estate Listing Can Tell You About a Strong Town

A real estate listing can be used as a roadmap to the attributes that Strong Towns advocates for: human-scale development, safe places to walk and bike, and responsive local government.

Incremental Housing, Safe & Productive Streets, Top StoryBen AbramsonApril 4, 2023real estate, Incremental Housing, Safe and Productive Streets, Homeownership, homeownership, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, walkability, development pattern

Don’t Like Sprawl? Just Call It Something Else.

The state of Florida has a bold new strategy to eliminate the adverse effects of urban sprawl: Change the definition.

News, Top StoryBen AbramsonMarch 22, 2023sprawl, Florida, suburban development pattern, development pattern, urban planning, local government

Making the Most of Your Transportation Options—And Getting Your Neighbors Onboard

White Flint, MD, presents a great case study for how a community can begin shifting the conversation on its transportation infrastructure and development pattern.

Engagement, Edward Erfurt, Safe & Productive Streets, Top StoryEdward ErfurtMarch 17, 2023Safe and Productive Streets, Maryland, traditional development pattern, Development, development pattern, suburban development pattern, traffic congestion, community engagement

A New Tool to Calculate the Lifecycle of Infrastructure

Calculating the 100-year lifecycle costs of new development shouldn’t be an obscure process, and the province of British Columbia, Canada, has created a tool to help its communities do exactly that.

Infrastructure, Incremental Housing, Top StorySeairra SheppardFebruary 23, 2023Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, maintenance, Maintenance, Incremental Housing, canada, Canada, British Columbia, Development, development pattern

Revised Zoning Rules Make Minnesota City Legal Again

Zoning restrictions in this Minneapolis suburb have rendered much of its original development in violation of its current rules. The city’s leadership is looking to change that.

Incremental Housing, Top StoryBen AbramsonFebruary 9, 2023Incremental Housing, zoning, Minnesota, housing, Development, development pattern, development, traditional development pattern, suburbs, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment

Parking, Pizza, and Apartments at the Mall

The way we build our neighborhoods in North America is nothing like making a pizza. But maybe it should be.

Incremental Housing, Top Story 2Michel Durand-WoodJanuary 31, 2023canada, Canada, Development, development pattern, development, traditional development pattern, mixed use, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, incrementalism, resilience, Incremental Housing

Recovering the Lost Art of Mixed-Use Development

Mixed-use development was once the norm in cities and towns, but most Americans no longer remember how it works. Here are 3 easy-to-understand forms that mixed use could (and should) take in your community.

Edward Erfurt, Planning Profession, Zoning, Top Story 2, Incremental HousingEdward ErfurtDecember 2, 2022mixed use, development pattern, traditional development pattern, urban planning, Development, development, planning profession, planning process

Financial Fragility Is To Blame for Jackson’s Water Crisis

The Suburban Experiment is a bad business model, and nothing demonstrates that more clearly than Jackson, Mississippi’s, ongoing water crisis.

Finance, Infrastructure, Marohn, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnSeptember 12, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, fragility, mississippi, development pattern, Growth Ponzi Scheme, infrastructure cost, finance, local finance, suburban experiment

City Pattern, Life Pattern

Question: “Why don’t people dance in the street today?” Answer: Because the design of our cities shapes the design of our lives.

Public Space, Urban Design, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedJuly 28, 2022Street Design, design, urban design, development pattern, public space, neighborhood, community, Community, car culture

Don’t Pause the Gas Tax, Redirect It

Congressman Jake Auchincloss: "We don't need a gas tax holiday. We need a gas tax reset: an overhaul of how we approach transportation funding.”

Water Wars in the Modern Wild West

Residents of Maricopa County in Arizona find themselves engaged in a war over water, as the county builds itself out beyond its means.

Upzoned, Podcast, Top Story, Suburban ExperimentStrong TownsJuly 13, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, resource, water, Arizona, Development, development pattern, suburban development pattern, environment, suburban experiment

For Those Who Wish We’d Talk About Climate Change More

Progress on climate change can and will come if we use a bottom-up approach to changing our development pattern.

Environment, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJuly 13, 2022bottom-up, top-down, climate, Climate Change, environment, strong towns approach, development pattern

Suburban Design is a Tragedy of the Commons

We tend to choose larger homes than we want our neighbors to choose. The result: suburban-style development that doesn't match what people actually want from their communities.

Suburban Experiment, Housing, Top StoryDevon ZuegelMay 3, 2022sprawl, infill, Development, development pattern, development, traditional development pattern, suburbs, suburbanization, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, housing

Can We Build Strong Towns from Scratch in the 21st Century?

We love organically grown, incrementally developed cities…but could we replicate their success if we started a new city from scratch?

Upzoned, Podcast, Housing, Top StoryStrong TownsApril 20, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, housing, Development, development, development pattern, traditional development pattern, cities

CNBC Tackles the Growth Ponzi Scheme

You don’t want to miss this CNBC documentary video about the financial fragility of the suburban development pattern.

Growth Ponzi Scheme, Suburban Experiment, Video, Top StoryLauren FisherApril 11, 2022Growth Ponzi Scheme, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, mixed use, housing, Development, development pattern, development

My County's Award-Winning Smart Growth Plan is a Disaster. Here's Why.

Sarasota County, FL, is viewed as a trailblazer in the prevention of unchecked suburbanization. So why has its growth management plan has not resulted in a better pattern of development?

Herriges, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Planning Profession, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesApril 6, 2022Development, development pattern, planning profession, planning process, growth, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Smart Growth, suburbs, Florida

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

What Does “Radical Neighborhood Change” Look Like?

“No neighborhood should be exempt from change. No neighborhood should be subjected to radical change.” Let’s examine what this core Strong Towns principle actually means.