A Rough Beast Slouches Toward the Brent Spence Bridge

As local and regional politicians move forward on a $3 billion highway widening project, a local group of activists in Cincinnati are fighting for an alternative plan.

Infrastructure, #NoNewRoads, Transportation, Top StoryRyan CraneAugust 22, 2022highways, End Highway Expansion, freeway widening, Cincinnati, Ohio, race, Race, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cult, transportation, transportation spending, #NoNewRoads

An Ode to the Early Morning Workers

This Sunday, our Neighborhood Storyteller gets up before the crack of dawn—and reflects on the sights and the people in our communities who normally go unseen by those who work a nine-to-five.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Top StoryKarla TheilenAugust 21, 2022neighborhood storyteller, community

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Introversion, chalk horses, and automation. 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 TownsAugust 19, 2022friday faves, Friday Faves

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Campaigning to Get Rid of an Urban Highway

Amy Stelly is advocating to remove a harmful highway in her New Orleans neighborhood.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Success Story, #NoNewRoadsStrong TownsAugust 18, 2022Podcast, highways, End Highway Expansion, New Orleans

Strongest Town Contest Sister Cities Come Together

Representatives from Norwood, OH, went to visit their counterparts in Jasper, IN, after facing off in this year’s Strongest Town Contest. Here’s 7 reasons the Norwoodians found Jasper to be a worthy champion!

Strongest Town Contest, Top StoryAlisha Loch and Mary C MillerAugust 18, 2022Strongest Town Competition, Strongest Town Winner, Strongest Town 2022, Jasper IN, Ohio, Indiana, community, Community, public space, public investment

Strong Towns Coast to Coast

Being a Strong Towns advocate is less intimidating, more effective, and, frankly, more fun when you’re not doing the work alone. Find a Local Conversation near you!

Pattison, Top StoryJohn PattisonAugust 17, 2022local conversations, advocacy, community building

Can Hamilton, Ontario, Hold the Line on Development—Literally?

This Canadian city made an unprecedented decision to stop expanding its urban growth boundary. What comes next?

Growth Ponzi Scheme, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 17, 2022Growth Ponzi Scheme, growth, sprawl, infill, Infill Development, canada, Canada, suburban experiment

Can America’s Unfair Property Tax System Ever Be Fixed?

Strong Towns interviews Dr. Christopher Berry, of the University of Chicago, on how we can begin making meaningful changes to the U.S.’s broken property tax system.

Where Are All Our Front Yard Businesses?

Front yard businesses were once a natural stage in the evolution of a community. So where have they all gone, and how do we bring them back?

Pattison, Zoning, Neighborhoods, Top StoryJohn PattisonAugust 16, 2022business, small business, local business, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, neighborhood, Neighborhoods, zoning

The Deadliest Stroad in America

Find out why this stretch of Floridian stroad has been nicknamed “death valley” by locals.

#SlowtheCars, Roads and Streets, Stange, Top StoryJay StangeAugust 16, 2022STROADS, pedestrian safety, Safety, safety, Safe and Productive Streets, #SlowTheCars, car crash, pedestrians, #PedestrianUnfriendly, Florida, Street Design

Not Just Bikes and Strong Towns: What America Keeps Getting Wrong About Public Transit

Why is it that in the U.S. and Canada, we're always being told that we can't justify the ridership for transit projects? And why is it that when we do build transit, it struggles to gain riders?

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Transportation, Public Transit, Video, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 15, 2022Podcast, podcast, Not Just Bikes, transit, public transit, suburban transit, Europe, canada, transportation

Why Is Rhode Island Building New Roads When Its Current Roads Are Falling Apart?

Rhode Island has built far more highways than it can afford to maintain. So why on earth is it building another one?

#NoNewRoads, Infrastructure, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 15, 2022End Highway Expansion, highways, highway spending, maintenance, Maintenance, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cult, Nero Project, Rhode Island, DOT, #NoNewRoads, roads

“I Can’t Remember the Name of That Place, but I’ll Never Forget the View”

On this Neighborhood Storyteller Sunday, Karla’s dentist—a local hero of sorts—gives her unexpected pause for reflection.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Top StoryKarla TheilenAugust 14, 2022neighborhood storyteller

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Dutch-style bikes, code snitching, and media theorists. 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 TownsAugust 12, 2022friday faves, Friday Faves

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Starting an Electric Bike Business

These Strong Towns advocates started an electric bike company in Calgary, AB, and are passionate about how biking changes the way you see your city.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Success Story, BikeabilityStrong TownsAugust 11, 2022Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, e-bikes, biking, family, small business

The "Other Story" of Buffalo

This year, Buffalo, NY, made headlines around the U.S. in the wake of a tragic shooting. But there’s another story to tell about Buffalo as a city, and it’s about decline and revitalization.

Upzoned, Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 10, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, Buffalo NY, New York, decline, revitalization

Calling All Strong-Towns-Minded Job Seekers and Employers!

Are you a Strong Towns advocate looking for a job? Or an employer looking to hire a Strong Towns advocate? Well, have we got the resource for you.

Announcement, Pattison, Top StoryJohn PattisonAugust 10, 2022Jobs, jobs, Action Lab, announcement

We Often Don’t Think About Design—But It Tells Us How To Think

Design affects us in a multitude of ways, and when we look to nature as inspiration for designing the built environment, the core takeaways are: adaptation and incrementalism.

Incrementalism, Sheppard, Zoning, Top StorySeairra SheppardAugust 9, 2022design, urban design, Neighborhood Design, aesthetics, incrementalism, incremental, incremental development, incremental growth, zoning, traditional development pattern

Can New Jersey Supermarkets Predict an End to the Suburban Experiment?

The trajectory of these Jersey supermarkets is a microcosm of how the suburban experiment altered small towns, turning them from tiny cities into suburban lifestyle accouterments.