Our excessive expansion of the interstate highway system has destroyed urban downtowns—and it’s wiped out many small towns altogether.

Top StorySeairra JonesApril 5, 2022highways, freeway widening, freeways, urban freeways, history, small towns, infrastructure, transportation

Say Hello to Our New Social Community Specialist

We’re proud to welcome the newest member of the Strong Towns team!

Top StoryStrong TownsApril 5, 2022Strong Towns, announcement

A Love Letter to the Farm Share

Our Neighborhood Storyteller’s local farm share has given her access not only to great food, but to great friends, as well.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Top StoryKarla TheilenApril 5, 2022neighborhood storyteller, montana, Farming, farmer's market, local food, rural, local business

Strongest Town 2022 Championship Round

Who will be crowned this year’s Strongest Town winner? You get to help decide!

Top StoryStrong TownsApril 4, 2022Strongest Town 2022, strongest town contest

Ignoring Induced Demand is Engineering Malpractice

In 2022, denying how highway expansions induce people to drive more should be considered professional malpractice.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnApril 4, 2022transportation, transportation spending, highways, freeways, engineers, engineering ethics, traffic engineering, traffic projections, induced demand, virginia, end highway expansion

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Cookie recipes, baseball, and Deleted Scenes. These are just some of the stories from around the internet that Strong Towns staff were reading and talking about this week.

Top StoryStrong TownsApril 1, 2022friday faves

And the 2022 Strongest Town Finalists Are...

This year’s Strongest Town winner will be one of these two cities.

Top StoryStrong TownsApril 1, 2022Strongest Town 2022, strongest town contest

TxDOT Ignores El Paso’s Needs To Make a Grab at Infrastructure Dollars

TxDOT’s latest boondoggle: a highway expansion that threatens to cut right at the heart of downtown El Paso.

Top StoryRobert StorchMarch 31, 2022highways, freeway widening, freeways, urban freeways, transportation, infrastructure, infrastructure spending, texas

In Hospitable Cities, You’re Welcomed by Design

Some neighborhoods can feel downright hostile, especially to outsiders. But many places have become this way due to inhospitable design, not inhospitable people.

Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedMarch 31, 2022placemaking, urban design, Neighborhood Design, suburban experiment, human scale, walkability, public space, food trucks, neighborhood revitalization, traditional development pattern, texas, neighborhoods

Is It Time for a National Zoning Atlas?

This advocacy group created the first online map to show how an entire state zones for housing. And they want to take the effort nationwide.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMarch 30, 2022advocacy, zoning, Connecticut, mapping, maps, housing, race, segregation

Praise for Small, Mixed-Use Buildings

It’s time we change our zoning rules to allow more small commercial spaces to help spice up and enliven our residential streets and neighborhoods.

Top StorySeth ZerenMarch 30, 2022zoning, Rhode Island, walkability, commercial real estate, mixed use, corner store, corner stores

Street Trees: The Roots of a Strong Town

Street trees provide a lot of pragmatic benefits to a community—and they also serve a social purpose.

Top StorySeairra JonesMarch 29, 2022street trees, community, neighborhoods

The Artist Date

This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller explores the important joy of simply being in public amongst one’s community members.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Top StoryKarla TheilenMarch 29, 2022neighborhood storyteller, montana, public space, coffee shops, public transportation

Why Are Used Homes So Expensive? (Part 2)

We’ve explored why new housing is so expensive…but why is it often the same case for used housing?

Top StorySeth ZerenMarch 28, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing market, home buyer

2022 Strongest Town Final Four: Voting (Now Closed)

Who will move on to the championship round next week? Their fate is in your hands!

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 28, 2022The Bottom-Up Revolution, Strongest Town 2022, colorado, strongest town contest, indiana, ohio

What’s Wrong with Engineering Values? (New Video Series)

This video series shows why engineers have such different priorities from the rest of us. As Planetizen puts it, “If you’re not yet outraged, prepare to be.”

Top StoryRachel QuednauMarch 25, 2022transportation, engineers, traffic engineering, confessions of a recovering engineer

Is There a Place for Animals in a Strong Town?

Humans aren’t the only “pedestrians” who benefit from safer, more walkable places.

Top StoryShina ShayestehMarch 24, 2022walkability, safety, case studies, auto-oriented, pedestrians, safe and productive streets, asia

We Could Fit Lots of Homes in the Middle of Old Strip Malls

Redeveloping just 10 percent of strip malls could fill a nine-year supply of housing in the Boston region, a new study finds. What could similar efforts elsewhere do?