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Strong Towns
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We Could Solve a Lot of Our Problems if We Just Built the Way We Used To
We Could Solve a Lot of Our Problems if We Just Built the Way We Used To

Many of the problems in our cities come down to a shortage in the budget—but the solution to this problem is staring us in the face.

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Community StoriesAdam RossJanuary 16, 2024local conversations, Land Use, suburban development pattern, value per acre, transparent local accounting, Community Action Lab
Taking Action in Cincinnati
Taking Action in Cincinnati

When a young child ended up in intensive care after being struck by a car, this Cincinnati Local Conversation group didn’t wait to take action to make the street safer.

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Community Stories, Top StoryBarbara DidrichsenJanuary 15, 2024safe and productive streets, local conversations, ohio, tactical urbanism, Crosswalk
Why "Local"? Why "Conversation"?
Why "Local"? Why "Conversation"?

Every month, all across North America, hundreds of Strong Towns advocates are gathering in local Strong Towns groups. We call them Local Conversations—but why? (The answer reveals a lot about the power of this movement!)

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Top StoryJohn PattisonJanuary 15, 2024local conversations
How Parking Ratios Kill Homes
How Parking Ratios Kill Homes

A string of mistakes in one city shows how easily local rules can turn arbitrary and destructive.

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Top StoryCatie GouldJanuary 12, 2024zoning, Incremental Housing, end parking mandates and subsidies, affordable housing, washington
So, You Want To Plant Some Trees
So, You Want To Plant Some Trees

Street trees are the only municipal asset that increases in value and capacity over time. Here are some things you should keep in mind for when you’re ready to get out there and start planting!

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Emma Durand-Wood, Top StoryEmma Durand-WoodJanuary 11, 2024street trees
How Many People Have To Die To Make a Street Safer?
How Many People Have To Die To Make a Street Safer?

This timeline of tragedy shows the many, many times city officials in Springfield, MA, should have addressed the unsafe conditions of State Street.

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Top StoryAsia MieleszkoJanuary 11, 2024massachusetts, safe and productive streets, car crash, Street Design, stroad
You Don't Need a License to Walk
You Don't Need a License to Walk

We need to rethink how we talk about car accidents involving pedestrians. Pedestrians are seen as obstacles for drivers who are often driving too fast and are too distracted along roads that are all too wide.

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Community Stories, Top StoryStrong Towns NanaimoJanuary 10, 2024safe and productive streets, canada, local conversations, safety, pedestrians
Okay, You Know How To Fix a Deadly Stroad. Now Do It 1,000 Times.
Okay, You Know How To Fix a Deadly Stroad. Now Do It 1,000 Times.

One reason communities hesitate to acknowledge their dangerous stroads is because the problem is so big, addressing it would paralyze our existing planning bureaucracies. But there is still a way forward.

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Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 10, 2024safe and productive streets, Crash Analysis Studio, safety, stroad, car crash
There’s No Shortcut to Lasting Revitalization
There’s No Shortcut to Lasting Revitalization

Dreaming of big goals for the year can be fun, but it’s also necessary to think of the small steps needed to reach those goals. Similarly, cities need to consider the small things they need to do to achieve long-term prosperity.

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Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedJanuary 9, 2024downtown, small bets
This Stroad’s Past Shouldn’t Seal Its Future
This Stroad’s Past Shouldn’t Seal Its Future

Why does a deadly stroad like this even exist in a city trying to achieve zero traffic deaths by 2030?

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Top StoryAsia MieleszkoJanuary 9, 2024colorado, safe and productive streets, car crash, vision zero, stroad
Long-Awaited MUTCD Update Sets New Road Safety Standards
Long-Awaited MUTCD Update Sets New Road Safety Standards

For the first time since 2009, the Federal Highway Administration has filed an updated version of its Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). But how effective will it actually be in making streets safer?

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News, Top StoryBen AbramsonJanuary 8, 2024safe and productive streets, top-down, MUTCD, traffic engineering
Just Another, and Another, and Another Pedestrian Killed on State Street
Just Another, and Another, and Another Pedestrian Killed on State Street

How do we explain a situation where people are routinely killed—in the same location—and nothing is done?

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Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJanuary 8, 2024safe and productive streets, Crash Analysis Studio, massachusetts, car crash, pedestrians, safety
This Transit Agency Almost Spent $50 Million on a Parking Garage. Now They’re Looking at Housing Instead.
This Transit Agency Almost Spent $50 Million on a Parking Garage. Now They’re Looking at Housing Instead.

Like countless transit agencies nationwide, SEPTA has been struggling to restore ridership in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. But this certainly isn’t the right way to do it.

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News, Top StoryAsia MieleszkoJanuary 5, 2024end parking mandates and subsidies, transit
This City's Permanent Middle Housing Rules Should Set a Statewide Standard
This City's Permanent Middle Housing Rules Should Set a Statewide Standard

Spokane, WA, has finalized its year-long effort to legalize more housing choices across the city—and their new code is something other cities should be paying attention to.

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Top StoryAnthony GillJanuary 5, 2024Incremental Housing, success stories, washington, missing middle, affordable housing, zoning
A Home To Grow Old In, and No Way To Leave
A Home To Grow Old In, and No Way To Leave

Most people would like to age in place, staying in their own home as long as possible. But do you do if your home is in an auto-oriented community, and you can no longer drive?

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Emma Durand-Wood, Top StoryEmma Durand-WoodJanuary 4, 2024Incremental Housing, aging in place, seniors, housing affordability, Social Isolation
What Happened When This Charming Town Found Out It’s Actually Illegal
What Happened When This Charming Town Found Out It’s Actually Illegal

Somerville, MA, is a thriving and vibrant city. So how is it that its own planners declared it an illegal place to build!?

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Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 4, 2024Incremental Housing, books, housing crisis, massachusetts, zoning
5 Shocking Statistics That Reveal the Depths of North America’s Housing Crisis
5 Shocking Statistics That Reveal the Depths of North America’s Housing Crisis

These statistics help tell the story of the past and present of North America’s housing crisis, why we’re facing these challenges, and how we can correct course to address them. 

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Trending, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 3, 2024Incremental Housing, housing crisis, housing, housing policy, housing affordability
Is the U.S. Trapped in a Perpetual Housing Bubble?
Is the U.S. Trapped in a Perpetual Housing Bubble?

A financial bubble is, by definition, unsustainable. So, why have we recreated the 2000s housing bubble?

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Marohn, Trending, Top StoryCharles MarohnJanuary 3, 2024Incremental Housing, books, housing crisis, housing policy, housing market
The Best Evidence Yet for the “Housing Musical Chairs” Theory
The Best Evidence Yet for the “Housing Musical Chairs” Theory

And why a lot of people will remain unimpressed by it.

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Herriges, Top Story, TrendingDaniel HerrigesJanuary 3, 2024Incremental Housing, books, housing, housing policy, housing market
Campaign To Eliminate Parking Mandates Coming to Florida Legislature
Campaign To Eliminate Parking Mandates Coming to Florida Legislature

Transit Alliance Miami, a transit and mobility advocacy group, hopes to encourage the development of more types of housing in Florida with draft legislation that would repeal costly parking minimums. 

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News, Top StoryBen AbramsonJanuary 2, 2024end parking mandates and subsidies, florida, housing cost, developers, parking minimums
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