Community Rallies to Save a Car-Free Street

After 2.5 years of success, officials in Peekskill, NY, are threatening to open this community gathering place back up to motorized traffic—but locals aren’t taking this threat lying down.

Safe & Productive Streets, Top Story, Community StoriesAsia MieleszkoApril 27, 2023Safe and Productive Streets, Third Places, community, New York State, cars, placemaking

The Secret Talents of Strong Citizens

When it comes to advocating for your place, you may feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problems, or feel that you don’t have the right skills to address them. But effective advocates come in all shapes and sizes.

Emma Durand-Wood, Top StoryEmma Durand-WoodApril 13, 2023community, Community, advocacy, Strong Citizenship

On Choosing a Place

Settling down from a cross-country move, Strong Towns Editor-in-Chief Daniel Herriges reflects on what makes a place feel like “home,” and what prompts people to put roots in a location—even if it’s not a “perfect” place.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesApril 5, 2023home, community, Community, Florida

Don’t Give Up on Your Small Town

Oftentimes, people in rural settings drive long distances to bigger towns to find community engagement. This renovated soda fountain shop shows why it’s worth looking for that sense of community a little closer to home.

Public Space, Community, Top Story, Community StoriesSeairra SheppardMarch 30, 2023Wyoming, rural, Small Towns, small towns, community, Third Places, restaurants, coffee shops, public space

10 Ways Rural Communities Sabotage Themselves

Your community may need to reshape how it thinks about community and economic development.

Rural, Top Story 2Andy PorteraMarch 1, 2023rural, community development, economic development, Economic Development, community, Community

Social Infrastructure: The Real Investment Our Cities Need

Too often, cities invest in the storage and movement of cars rather than the movement, visibility, and interactions of human beings. But the latter is precisely what makes for communities that are worth caring about.

OwensTiffany Owens ReedFebruary 28, 2023community, Community, community site, public space, public safety, Public Safety, Safety, safety, Third Places

History Teacher Steps Up and Starts the Conversation for Change in Bloomington, Illinois

Local Conversation leader Noah Tang appeared on the radio to talk about how his group, the Bloomington Revivalists, are making positive changes for housing in their community.

Incremental Housing, Success Story, Top Story, Community StoriesSeairra SheppardFebruary 21, 2023community, local conversations, Illinois, success, success stories, accessory dwelling units, ADUs, Incremental Housing, advocacy

Vermont Activists Help Abolish Parking Minimums in Burlington

The group Vermonters for People-Oriented Places just launched this year, but they’re already off to a fast start in Burlington, VT, where they’re supporting important changes for the community.

End Parking Mandates, Success Story, Top Story, Community StoriesJohn PattisonFebruary 13, 2023Parking, parking minimums, parking, End Parking Mandates and Subsidies, Vermont, community, local conversations, Community, success, success stories

Beware the Impersonal City

The increasing presence of technology in our third places poses a challenge to collective life and collective action.

Community, Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedJanuary 31, 2023Third Places, community, Community

Church Members Propose Urban Village for Congregation

Parishioners of a historic church in Detroit want to develop eight vacant blocks with missing-middle housing to build a church-centered community.

Incremental Housing, CNU, News, Top StoryRobert SteutevilleJanuary 27, 2023faith communities, Religion, religion, churches, Michigan, public space, community, Community, Incremental Housing

Not a Stranger, Not a Friend: The Second-Ring Relationships Our Cities Need More Of

Relationships with neighbors once made up an important part of our social fabric, forming the basis for civic collaboration and local problem solving. Here’s how we can get those relationships back.

Community, Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedDecember 6, 2022community, Community, public space, neighborliness, Texas, coffee shops

Mere's Magic Universe and Tea

This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller connects with a new community and its residents through exploring downtown and some local businesses.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Community, Top StoryKarla TheilenNovember 13, 2022neighborhood storyteller, downtown, local business, community, localism, montana

Fortunes and Found Things

This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller reflects on the joy of finding pleasant surprises in unexpected places—including in one’s community.

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Top Story, CommunityKarla TheilenNovember 6, 2022neighborhood storyteller, community

“The City Should Put a Trader Joe’s There” (and Other Muddled Thinking About Development)

Many of us are keen to express the “what” that we’d like to see in the built environment, but unwilling to think rationally and clearly about the “how.”

Herriges, Local Government, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 17, 2022development, local government, Municipalism, city government, localism, community, Community, big box stores

The Block Party

This Sunday, a Strong Towns member invites our Neighborhood Storyteller to see how his neighborhood alliance is building community…with a block party!

Neighborhood Storyteller, Theilen, Community, Neighborhoods, Top StoryKarla TheilenSeptember 11, 2022neighborhood storyteller, montana, neighborhood, neighborhood association, community, community development, community engagement

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.

Community, Pattison, Top StoryJohn PattisonSeptember 7, 2022local conversations, community, Community

Want to Build Community on Your Street? Just Hit "Print"!

Sometimes, building connections with your neighbors is as simple as hosting a block party.

Community, Neighborhoods, Van Eeden Petersman, Top StoryNorman Van Eeden PetersmanAugust 22, 2022neighborliness, neighborhood, community, Community, community building

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

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!