Too Much Trust in Technology Is Dangerous for Drivers (and Everyone Around Them)

For the first time, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted tests on 14 widely available versions of self-driving technology. Here’s what they found.

News, Top StoryBen AbramsonMarch 15, 2024safe and productive streets, self driving cars, safety, car dependency, cars

5 Reasons Why We Should End Highway Expansion

We have to end highway expansion and focus on projects that actually build wealth in our cities. If you’re not convinced, then read on.

An ADU Called by Any Other Name

There is nothing inspirational in calling the place you live as accessory to something else. It’s time we returned a sense of dignity to the smaller structures that people have called “home” for generations.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Not Your Typical Bike Activist!

Maddy Novich is a criminal justice professor at Manhattan College, a mom of three, and an Instagram influencer living in New York City—you might know her as @cargobikemomma!

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 14, 2024The Bottom-Up Revolution, bikeability, bikes, biking, active transportation

What Does Effective Urban Advocacy Actually Look Like?

There’s a troubling narrative out there that you can only get things done in your community if you’re in public office, or by otherwise working through official, formal channels. But this is simply not true.

Help Choose the Elite Eight

Your vote will help decide which of 16 communities best exemplifies the Strong Towns approach. Check out the contest now.

Strong TownsMarch 13, 2024strongest town contest

Traffic Deaths Now Exceed the Number of Homicides in LA. This Initiative Aims To Change That.

Michael Schneider, founder of Streets for All and the campaign manager for Healthy Streets Los Angeles, joins us today on Upzoned to talk about the recent ballot proposal, Measure HLA.

Podcast, News, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 13, 2024upzoned, podcast, safe and productive streets, california, transportation

AARP: What’s Good for Older Americans Is Good for All of Us

Rodney Harrell, AARP Vice President of Family, Home and Community, chats with us about housing, transportation, and how making life easier for older Americans benefits citizens of all ages.

Top StoryBen AbramsonMarch 13, 2024aging in place, Incremental Housing, safe and productive streets, housing, seniors

The People of Los Angeles Just Said "Yes" to Safer Streets

In what’s anticipated to be a landslide, the people of Los Angeles just voted in favor of walking, biking, and transit.

Eliminate the Guesswork in Safe Street Design

Traffic calming interventions are best when they not only make the environment safer for everyone outside of a car, but when they do so in a way that reduces the mental load for drivers.

What Is the Role of Philanthropy in Building Stronger Towns?

How do we get philanthropy involved in community building, and how do we make good investments in our cities and towns? How do we access federal programs and bigger resources effectively?

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 11, 2024podcast, finance, municipal finance, investing, public investment

Make Safe Streets a Culture War and We All Lose

Demonizing the 91% of Americans who drive by putting them into the category of "asshole humans” is a bad and ultimately losing strategy for creating safer streets.

Marohn, Top Story, TrendingCharles MarohnMarch 11, 2024car culture, car crash, cars, transportation, safe and productive streets

Lessons on Development Patterns From America’s Oldest Planned City

The unique planning and eclectic architecture of Savannah, GA, provide a PhD education on urban design—but there are also cautionary tales about development to be gleaned from this historic city.

Who Says We Need Walkable Cities? A Former Republican Presidential Candidate.

American cities are too dependent on cars. Who says so? North Dakota Governor and former Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum.

News, Top Story, TrendingBen AbramsonMarch 7, 2024walkability, politics, Conservatism, north dakota, Incremental Housing

The Stakes in the SUV “Arms Race” Go Way Beyond Safety

People tend, understandably, to think they’ll be safer in an SUV—but what happens to our cities if everyone is driving a bigger vehicle?

Emma Durand-Wood, Top StoryEmma Durand-WoodMarch 7, 2024car culture, cars, car crash, auto-oriented, car dependency

$350 Million Mixed-Use Development Presents a "Huge Opportunity" for South Bend, IN

A catalytic project has been proposed for downtown South Bend, IN: a mixed-use district that would include hotels, apartments, and commercial uses.

Podcast, News, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 6, 2024upzoned, podcast, development, small scale developers, indiana

The Current State of the YIMBY Movement: 3 Takeaways from YIMBYTown 2024

For the first time this year, I attended the YIMBYTown conference, the annual gathering of the YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) movement. Here were my impressions.

Herriges, Top Story, TrendingDaniel HerrigesMarch 6, 2024yimby, Incremental Housing, housing policy, housing activism, zoning

It’s Time to Stop Getting “Used to It”

Let’s save our capacity to adapt for better design choices.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedMarch 5, 2024suburban experiment

Sam Quinones: Recovering Addicts Are Having a Bottom-Up Revolution in This Small Kentucky Town

Sam Quinones returns to the Strong Towns Podcast to discuss a recent, moving article he’s written about Hazard, KY, a small town that was hit hard by the decline of coal mining and the rise of the opioid epidemic.