Hey, Starbucks: Your Drive-Thru Doesn't Belong in My Community

Or in anyone else’s, for that matter! A strong neighborhood has businesses that keep money in the local economy, instead of siphoning money out.

Neighborhoods, Quednau, Top StoryRachel QuednauMay 9, 2022coffee shops, local business, local economy, business, small business, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, cars, car culture, localism, Wisconsin, Third Places

Herriges Rezoned: The Neighbor's Dilemma

NIMBYs are responding to a set of very rational incentives. That presents a challenge for those of us who hope to alter the course of the Suburban Experiment.

Neighborhoods, Engagement, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesApril 20, 2022suburbs, community engagement, community, Community, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, NIMBY

High Water Victorians, Roosevelt Corner Shops, and Hipster Legos

This walking tour in Sacramento, CA, reveals much about its past and present challenges with housing.

Housing, Sanphillippo, Top StoryJohnny SanphillippoApril 18, 2022California, housing, Housing, housing affordability, housing market, missing middle, Development, affordable housing, neighborhood, Neighborhoods

Accidentally On Purpose

Massive property damage and pedestrians being injured (or killed) is our transportation system functioning precisely as designed. This is how it was designed to work.

Community, Member Post, Neighborhoods, Transportation, Walkability, Planning Profession, In the Neighborhood, Engineering Profession, Urban Design, dear winnipeg, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodApril 14, 2022advocacy, canada, Winnipeg, neighborhood, city council, community

Who Should Be Able to Veto New Housing Production?

Should states and counties push back against local governments to crack open more options for housing, or will that be counterproductive?

Upzoned, Podcast, Suburban Experiment, Neighborhoods, Top StoryStrong TownsApril 13, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, suburban experiment, suburbs, Washington DC

Not Just Bikes: The Only Car-Free Place in Canada (and Why You Can’t Live There)

Just off the coast of Toronto, Canada's largest city, you'll find a group of 15 small car-free islands. But just in case you thought you'd like to live here: you can't.

Video, Neighborhoods, Top StoryJay StangeApril 13, 2022Not Just Bikes, canada, Canada, car-lite, car culture, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, walkability, Homeownership, homeownership

The Village of Providence and Its Supposedly Impossible Stuff

You might not guess by looking, but this traditional neighborhood development is an employment powerhouse.

Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Success Story, Top StorySteve MouzonApril 11, 2022Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, mixed use, traditional development pattern, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, alabama, success, success stories, business, local business

Vernacular Is Beautiful—If We Would Just Allow It

The work of this small-scale developer shows why cities shouldn’t be so restrictive about building in their own vernacular.

Architecture, Neighborhoods, Small Scale Developers, Top StoryMatthew RobareMarch 21, 2022zoning, South Carolina, small-scale developers, architecture, aesthetics, small scale development, success, success stories, Neighborhoods, neighborhood, developers, Development, development

10 Surprisingly Walkable Neighborhoods in the Least Walkable Cities

This YouTube channel introduces us to the hidden gems in some otherwise #PedestrianUnfriendly cities.

Video, Walkability, Stange, Neighborhoods, Top StoryJay StangeFebruary 10, 2022walkability, CityNerd, pedestrians, neighborhood, Neighborhoods

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.

Herriges, Incrementalism, Neighborhoods, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 27, 2022strong towns approach, development pattern, Development, development, traditional development pattern, neighborhood change, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, Neighborhood Design, Small Change, incremental, incrementalism

Time for a Little "Self-Gentrification"

“You don’t have to move out of your neighborhood to live in a better one,” says Majora Carter in her new book, Reclaiming Your Community.

Housing, Neighborhoods, Top StoryJay StangeJanuary 20, 2022gentrification, Gentrification, housing, neighborhood, neighborhood revitalization, Neighborhoods, blight, books

Cultivating Community Beyond Church Walls in Indianapolis

This congregation launched a non-profit organization to help its neighbors—not as an act of benevolence for them, but in solidarity with them.

Tim Soerens: Reconnecting Churches with Their Neighborhoods

In 2022’s inaugural Strong Towns Podcast episode, Chuck interviews Tim Soerens, author and co-founder of the Parish Collective.

Community, Faith, Neighborhoods, ST Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 3, 2022faith communities, Faith Featured, churches, Podcast, podcast, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, community building

The Typewriter Mailbox: Small Ways to Bring Joy to a Neighborhood

This house came with a unique instruction: “Change the mailbox message every week, or people will get upset.”

Community, Neighborhoods, Top StoryKarla TheilenDecember 10, 2021neighborliness, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, community, Community, montana

An Ode to Pets in Windows

The pets of this neighborhood brought their humans closer together.

Community, Neighborhoods, Top StorySara FalligantDecember 9, 2021pets, neighborliness, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, community, Community

Love Letters to Your Neighborhood: 5 (Perfectly Legal) Guerilla Art Projects for the Whole Family

These temporary artwork instillations (that anyone can create) are a great way to connect with your neighbors, and help them connect with your community, in turn.

Neighborhoods, Public Art, Top StoryMary Elizabeth PhillipsDecember 8, 2021arts, neighborliness, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, community, Community, Texas

Say Hello Like You’re Saying Goodbye

Why it’s important that we connect with members of our community sooner rather than later.

Community, Top StoryGenevieve BarberDecember 6, 2021community, community building, neighborliness, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, Georgia

A Community Forced to Play the Infrastructure Squid Game

Residents of this Houston neighborhood thought they were winning the lottery with a government-sponsored infrastructure project. Instead, they endured a seven-month-long nightmare.

Infrastructure, Local Government, Neighborhoods, Roads and Streets, Maintenance, Top StoryJuan Antonio SortoNovember 30, 2021Infrastructure, streets, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, neighborhood change, Houston, infrastructure maintenance, Hurricanes, hurricane harvey, race, Race

A Drive Through “the Ugliest Place in Maryland”: Part 2

Our drive continues through the area once called “the ugliest place in Maryland.” When you look around, though, you can find the building blocks for an urban transformation in these suburbs.

Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, Top StoryAddison Del MastroOctober 29, 2021Addison Del Mastro, urbanism, Maryland, Washington DC, photos, neighborhood, Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, traditional development pattern

A Drive Through “the Ugliest Place in Maryland”: Part 1

Let’s take a drive down Rockville Pike, a major thoroughfare near DC. What kinds of development patterns will we find as we pass through each ring of suburbia?

Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, Top StoryAddison Del MastroOctober 28, 2021Addison Del Mastro, urbanism, Maryland, Washington DC, photos, neighborhood, Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, traditional development pattern

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