Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Chandeliers, sentient AI, and 500-foot telescopes. These are just some of the stories from around the internet that Strong Towns staff were reading and talking about this week.

Top StoryStrong TownsJune 17, 2022friday faves

Freeway-Fighting Tide Has Turned

The halting of three in-city freeway expansions highlights a new momentum on reversing the damage of highways through urban areas.

Top StoryRobert SteutevilleJune 17, 2022urban freeways, freeway widening, freeway removal, highways, highway spending, DOT, colorado, transportation, infrastructure, success stories, end highway expansion, cnu, new york, oregon

Flying Blind: Why Public Leaders Need an Investment Grade Analysis

Portland and Oregon leaders shouldn’t commit to a $5-billion project without an investment grade analysis (IGA) of toll revenues.

Top StoryJoe CortrightJune 17, 2022infrastructure, infrastructure cost, infrastructure spending, DOT, washington, transparent local accounting, oregon

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Community Design for Stronger Towns

Ann Zadeh is a Strong Towns member, former city councilwoman, and community design leader in Fort Worth, TX.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsJune 16, 2022The Bottom-Up Revolution, success stories, leadership, community, member story, local government, urban planning, podcast

Keep It Simple, Cities!

So, you want to attend a city council meeting? Good luck getting past all the jargon! Check out these “translations” of a real-life council agenda, and why it’s important to be more transparent with citizens.

Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedJune 16, 2022local government, public engagement, city council, localism, Strong Citizenship, community engagement

A New Guide Could Help Your Community Fix Its Parking Policies

From our friends at the Parking Reform Network: a new guide to aid local advocates and policy makers implement Parking Benefit Districts in their cities and towns.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 16, 2022parking pricing, Parking Reform Network, end parking mandates and subsidies

NIMBY: Hero, Villain, or None of the Above?

This week’s Upzoned episode reflects on how the nuances of housing policy don’t lend themselves to broad stereotypes.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsJune 15, 2022podcast, housing, housing market, NIMBY, neighborhood change, upzoned, yimby

How to Use Facebook to Connect with Strong Towns Allies Near You

Many people have a love-hate relationship with Facebook, but we can’t deny that it’s an effective place to connect with fellow advocates.

Top StoryJohn PattisonJune 15, 2022community, community building, advocacy, local conversations

A Parallel Option: Social Housing (Part 3)

Social housing is not a silver bullet, but can be part of a broader vision for a fairer and more responsive housing market.

HerrigesDaniel HerrigesJune 15, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing crisis, housing policy, co-housing, social housing series

This “Homegrown Project” Offers a Place To Thrive for Small Business Owners

These pop-up shops in Berwyn, IL, are a great example of how communities can provide low-cost, low-risk spaces for local business owners to get their foot in the door.

Top StorySeairra JonesJune 14, 2022pop-up, small business, local business, incremental, incrementalism, business, localism, small bets, success stories, illinois

Home Business: In Rovinj, Croatia, a Peek at What's Possible

A visit to a home restaurant in Rovinj, Croatia, shows the kind of small businesses and good urbanism that we could have in the U.S. if we just relaxed our zoning codes.

Top StoryAddison Del MastroJune 14, 2022travel, small business, restaurants, zoning, urbanism, historic preservation, architecture, urban renewal, europe

A Return to the Old Country

This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller turns to friends for support during a canine emergency.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Top StoryKarla TheilenJune 14, 2022neighborhood storyteller, community, neighborliness, pets, neighborhoods

Nolan Gray: Exposing the Arbitrariness of Zoning Codes

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn talks with Nolan Gray about his new book, in which he shows why zoning reform is necessary for building stronger towns and cities.

Podcast, Marohn, Top StoryStrong TownsJune 13, 2022zoning, podcast, books

Laundromat Urbanism

A simple laundromat offers an unexpected reminder of the role urban design has to play in making us feel more connected with the people around us.

Top StoryArian HorbovetzJune 13, 2022Social Isolation, urbanism, community, community site, public space, local business, new york

Stanwood Mulls Strong Towns-Style Main Street Makeover

This small town is considering overhauling its main street to embrace walkability and good old-fashioned main street urbanism.

Top StoryDoug TrummJune 13, 2022downtown, main street, revitalization, walkability, urbanism, success stories, rural, washington, small towns

Strong Towns on TikTok? You Betcha!

Strong Towns staff are sharing design flaws in their communities—and we want to add your voice to the mix!

Top StoryStrong TownsJune 10, 2022TikTok

Friday Faves - Member Week Edition!

This Friday Faves is a little bit different: Instead of featuring favorite stories from around the web, we’re sharing favorite comments from our members!

Top StoryStrong TownsJune 10, 2022friday faves, member week

End the Parking Mandates and Subsidies That Are Hurting Our Cities

Valuable land is being wasted everywhere in the U.S. on motor vehicle storage. Let’s free up that space so it can be used more productively for our communities.

Top StoryJohn PattisonJune 10, 2022parking minimums, end parking mandates and subsidies, member week