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

The Strong Towns Hiring Process

We often get questions about our hiring process, so we’ve laid it all out here so that others can put it to use in building their own teams.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 20, 2021Jobs, Strong Towns

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Slime molds, tree rings, and perfectly soft butter. These are just some of the stories from around the internet that Strong Towns staff were reading and talking about this week.

Friday Faves, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 17, 2021friday faves

Are Traffic Engineers Sociopaths?

Why is it that traffic engineers seem to value the flow of cars over human lives and safety? Are they just sociopaths?

Is it 2021 or 1961 at America's DOTs?

Here’s a roundup of five highway boondoggles that are threatening neighborhoods right now in the U.S. Think of it as a hall of shame.

The Environment Question

Where does the Strong Towns approach intersect with environmentalism?

Marohn, Roads and Streets, Walkability, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 16, 2021environment, strong towns approach, Electric Vehicles, walkability, streets

We're Hiring a Development Associate

Apply now to join the Strong Towns team and help advance our mission!

Announcement, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 16, 2021jobs, announcement

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Using Tactical Urbanism to Make Your Town Stronger

Austin Taylor is helping to lead a resident-driven tactical urbanism effort in Park City, Utah.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 16, 2021The Bottom-Up Revolution, tactical urbanism, Utah, community engagement, taking action

My Family's Kansas City Story

One family’s history tells volumes about the development of Kansas City since the 1950s.

Davis, Neighborhoods, Race, Urban3, Top StorySarah DavisSeptember 15, 2021Kansas City, Kansas, redlining, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, highways, history, History, race, Race, race relations, Urban3, freeways

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

A How-To Guide for Better Community Engagement

True community engagement is not just about listening. It’s about building understanding.

Community, Action Lab, Engagement, Quednau, Top StoryRachel QuednauSeptember 14, 2021community, Community, community engagement, communication, community building, how to, Action Lab

Lessons from Mount Morris

In a world of real estate investors seeking quick profits, we need more people like Greg O'Connell.

Community, Economic Development, Small Scale Developers, Success Story, Top StoryJonah RichardSeptember 14, 2021success, success stories, downtown, community development, community, developers, New York

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.

Public Space, Urban Design, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedSeptember 13, 2021aging, design, urban design, cities

Zoning and "Bigness"

Big, complicated zoning codes create an environment that gives developers no smaller-scale competition.

Housing, Small Scale Developers, Zoning, Top StoryAddison Del MastroSeptember 13, 2021zoning, housing, developers, Development, Addison Del Mastro

The Anecdotal "Buyback Effect"

What can we learn about the housing market and corporations buying back their own stock...through anecdotal references? (As it turns out, quite a lot!)

Sanphillippo, Housing, Member Post, Small Scale Developers, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoSeptember 13, 2021history, small scale developers, small scale development, California, missing middle, housing, Housing, Granola Shotgun

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Highway expansions in Charleston, independent streaming sites, and cities of the future. These are just some of the stories from around the internet that Strong Towns staff were reading and talking about this week.

Friday Faves, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 10, 2021friday faves

Learning from Biology, Not Physics

In general, engineers treat cities like a physics problem, but what we need is engineers who are able to humbly grasp the overwhelming complexity of human habitat and work.

Confessions Book, Engineering Profession, Marohn, Transportation, Top StoryCharles MarohnSeptember 10, 2021engineering profession, engineering ethics, engineers, leadership, confessions book, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, confessions excerpt

The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Taking a Strong Towns Approach to Transportation

Chuck Marohn joins this week’s show to talk about his new book.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Success Story, Marohn, Engineering Profession, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 9, 2021The Bottom-Up Revolution, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, books, taking action

"Improvements"

So many engineering projects are formally called "improvements." The subtle bias of this language provides a glimpse at the values embedded within the profession.

Let's Talk Great Streets

Abby and Chuck deviate from the norm a little on this week’s Upzoned by talking not about an article from the internet, but about one chapter of a particular book (hint: it’s Confessions).