The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Planting Street Trees and Neighborhood Connections

Emma Durand-Wood is a Strong Towns member who is a leader in her neighborhood association and a big advocate for street trees in Winnipeg.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 8, 2022street trees, neighborhood association, success stories, canada, podcast

The Starter House Is Nearly Extinct

Increasingly, for entire cities in the U.S., buying a starter home on a modest income is no longer an option.

6 Tips for Hosting Your First Local Conversation

Want to get together with your neighbors to talk about Strong Towns ideas? Here’s some tips on getting started.

Top StoryJohn PattisonSeptember 7, 2022local conversations, community

Letting Ugly Things Grow

If you value the end state of a walkable, diverse, dynamic place with a lot of local character, then you must also value the process that gets you there.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 7, 2022urban design, urbanism, aesthetics, ecology, incremental growth, incrementalism, incremental

L.A. Continues Delaying Infrastructure That Could Save Lives

Everyone who uses streets would benefit from L.A.’s mobility plan…if only the city would actually implement it.

You Don’t “NEED” More Space

We often speak to the “good old days” as a measure of the U.S. at its best…but in 1950, the average American home was 983 square feet, as opposed to the 2,300 square feet of today.

Top StoryArian HorbovetzSeptember 6, 2022housing, housing cost, cars, car culture, urbanism, capitalism

Mansion Blight: How the Most Expensive Homes Drain Community Wealth

Mansions on large lots, not rundown properties in low-socioeconomic-status neighborhoods, are the real blight on a community’s financial health.

Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Survival, bulldozers, and Evel Knievel. These are just some of the stories from around the internet that Strong Towns staff were reading and talking about this week.

Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 2, 2022friday faves

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Moving from Planning to Action

Strong Towns member Spencer Gardner is the new planning director for the city of Spokane, WA, and he’s been helping his city take action on important housing issues.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 1, 2022urban planning, Incremental Housing, accessory dwelling unit, podcast, washington

Engineers: Will You Be Someone, or Will You *Do* Something?

All truth passes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. We’re at the second stage in the case of engineering reform.

Engineering Reform, Top StoryPatrick QuigleySeptember 1, 2022engineering ethics, engineers

Mall Money, More Problems

Yet another failed mall (this time in Milwaukee, WI) proves to be a drag on—and an active harm to—its surroundings.

Professional Engineers: Speak Up. The Stakes Are Life and Death.

Today on Upzoned, Strong Towns Founder and President Chuck Marohn and Program Director Rachel Quednau discuss updates on the Strong Towns lawsuit, and how we got here.

Podcast, Top Story, Engineering ReformStrong TownsAugust 31, 2022podcast, engineering ethics, upzoned, engineers

Remove Highway 99: A Crazy Idea in “Deep” South Park

What was once a fringe idea to convince the state of Washington to turn a section of Highway 99 over to local control has grown into a publicly funded action.

These Engineers Stand for Reform and They’re Speaking Out Against Regressive Leadership in Their Profession

The Minnesota board of engineering licensure tried to silence a reform-minded engineer—and in response, other engineers are standing up and making themselves heard.

Engineering Reform, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 31, 2022engineering ethics, engineers

"The Street Project" Is a Great Warmup for a Street Fight

This film makes a human rights case for safer streets, while showing the historic roots of safe streets advocacy in the U.S. and the power of tactical urbanism.

Licensing Board to the Engineering Profession: "Stay in Line"

The Minnesota licensing board has essentially issued a warning to professional engineers: Stay in line or you will face attack by colleagues who disagree with you.

Engineering Reform, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 30, 2022engineering ethics, engineers

Nervous About Speaking in Front of Your Council? Practice!

Join us Wednesday, August 31, for a mock council meeting, in which we’ve asked our Strong Towns Toastmasters members to prepare a persuasive speech or participate as a skeptical council member.

Top StoryNorman Van Eeden PetersmanAugust 29, 2022announcement, city council

We Are Holding Engineers Accountable for Dangerous Road Designs. The Engineering Powers That Be Want Us To Shut Up.

Pointing out the emperor’s nakedness doesn’t make you very popular in the emperor’s court. That’s not going to stop us from pointing out gross negligence in the engineering profession when we see it.

Engineering Reform, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 29, 2022engineering ethics, engineers

Strong Towns Will Defend Engineers’ Right to Free Speech From the Minnesota Licensing Board

Charles Marohn was fined, censured, and reprimanded for speaking up for change as an engineer. We’re fighting to have this state board’s decision overturned, so they know they can’t use their power to intimidate those who call for reform.

Engineering Reform, Top StoryAndrew BurlesonAugust 29, 2022engineering ethics, engineers