Reclaiming Your Community
Majora is quoted on the walls of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, "You don't have to move out of your neighborhood to live in a better one.” That sentiment is the focus of this keynote, which will explore how we can address the problem of persistent poverty in low-status communities differently, and slow down the brain-drain that cripples local economic progress. Just like successful companies have talent-retention strategies, Majora Carter argues that these communities need to do the same. Carter shows how brain drain cripples low-status communities and maps out a development strategy focused on talent retention to help them break out of economic stagnation.
Speaker: Majora Carter
Breakout 1
May 31, 9:15–10:30 AM
How To Start a Strong Towns Local Conversation
The Strong Towns movement is committed to a premise that might sound idealistic, but which we’ve found, over and over, to be true: that people getting together to talk about challenges in their cities and towns can lead to meaningful change. Community Builder John Pattison will discuss the growing number of Strong Towns Local Conversations in North America, explain how you can find (or start) one near you, and share some examples of existing Strong Towns groups that are accomplishing bottom-up changes close to home. You can do this, and Strong Towns is here to help.
Speaker: John Pattison
How To Start Your Own Crash Analysis Studio
Strong Towns’ Crash Analysis Studio is an innovative new program that uses the methodology of medical inquests to investigate individual traffic crashes and recommend specific design changes to prevent their recurrence. You’ll hear from Director of Community Action Edward Erfurt about how to start a Crash Analysis Studio in your own community. Edward will outline the key elements to organize a qualified panel and orchestrate a successful crash session, as well as share some lessons we have learned during the program, so far.
Speaker: Edward Erfurt
Creating the Ecosystem for Incremental Developers To Succeed
The secret to a great city, town, or neighborhood is that it is shaped by many hands, yet many of our places have faced stagnation and decline for decades. When reinvestment eventually comes, it is implemented by large-scale developers, often from outside the community. A healthy incremental development ecosystem is one where locals own, implement, and benefit from reinvestment in their community. Neighborhood Evolution is a new organization helping to ready, steady, and nurture cities and incremental developers. This panel will feature the founders of Neighborhood Evolution, who are all developers in their own right with decades of experience and wisdom. The conversation will particularly focus on the story of South Bend, Indiana, which has seen a powerful transformation over the last several years as a result of incremental development efforts.
Speakers: Monte Anderson, Mike Keen, Barbara Taylor, and Bernice Radle. Moderated by Gracen Johnson.
Strong Towns 101
Why are so many cities and towns across North America going broke? Our roads are deteriorating. Our governments are in debt. No matter how much we increase them, our taxes aren’t enough to fix it all. And no one seems to be able to agree on how we got here—much less how to change the course. This isn’t just about numbers on a budget. This is about the fate of the communities we love most, and the real people that live there. This is about how to give our citizens, today and tomorrow, a chance at the future they deserve. If we want American cities to be strong and resilient, we need to change everything about the way we plan and build our places. In this core Strong Towns presentation, Charles Marohn will explain, in plain language, how so many American cities have found themselves in decline after decades of “growth.” And then he’ll show you a revolutionary way forward that could create enduring prosperity—if we just have the courage to change our minds.
Speaker: Charles Marohn
Breakout 2
May 31, 10:45 AM–12:00 PM
The Dollars and $ense of City Economics
You love your community, but all that love hasn’t translated to a functional budget and a financially sustainable future. Urban3 takes a different approach to land value economics, property and retail tax analysis, and community design, empowering communities with new insights into their own data. In this core Urban3 talk, Principal Joe Minicozzi provides visualizations of economic productivity that enable better understanding of the economic potency and efficiency of development choices. He’ll begin to demystify tax codes, government jargon, and municipal finance data, to allow you to more clearly understand the economic impact of development.
Speaker: Joe Minicozzi
Zoning Broke the City. Here’s How To Fix It.
One set of policies has burdened cities with debilitating housing shortages, stunted growth and innovation, persistent racial and economic segregation, and car-dependent development. Nolan Gray, author of the book Arbitrary Lines, will spotlight the problems with American zoning and propose a better path forward. You’ll learn the tangled history of zoning, how it’s been deployed, and why it stymies North American cities from addressing many of their problems. Gray will discuss short- and long-term solutions, and you’ll learn the many benefits you can unleash if you can get zoning changed in your town.
Speaker: M. Nolan Gray
Unleashing the Benefits of Parking Reform
Costly parking mandates are required for housing and commercial uses in many North American cities and towns. These arbitrary requirements prevent small businesses from opening and homes from being built; they fill our cities with wasteful, empty space; and they drain the financial productivity of our neighborhoods. But the tide is changing. Tony Jordan and Jane Wilberding of the Parking Reform Network will explain the adverse effects of parking mandates, celebrate the substantial momentum for reforming them, and teach you how to organize and build a coalition for parking reforms in your city.
Speakers: Tony Jordan and Jane Wilberding (Parking Reform Network)
How To Fight the Highway in Your Backyard (Panel)
Highway expansion is wasteful and destructive. But what can you do to fight it when such a project comes to your community? Hear from advocates on the front lines taking on the powerful network of highway-building interests in a panel discussion with members of the 4-Corners Coalition for Transportation Planning Reform in Louisiana, a unique regional group of advocates who have banded together around shared Strong Towns goals of ending highway expansion and creating safer streets.
Speakers: Amy Stelly and Danielle Richard. Moderated by Asia Mieleszko.
Changing Minds in Your Community: What Works
How do you go about sharing ideas that are new or provocative to a lot of people in your community, in a way that ensures they’ll actually listen and maybe even shift their perspective? Daniel Herriges and Norm Van Eeden Petersman will host an interactive training session for local advocates focusing on ways to maximize the persuasiveness of your presentations of Strong Towns ideas. You'll learn how to take part in community discussions in ways that spark meaningful change while steering clear of common, politically charged pitfalls.
Speakers: Daniel Herriges and Norm Van Eeden Petersman
Breakout 3
May 31, 1:45-3:00 PM
Escaping the Housing Trap
Housing prices are at near-record highs, and millions of Americans are housing insecure in one form or another. The roots of today’s housing crisis lie in a basic tension: Can real estate be both an investment vehicle and an economic engine, and a source of necessary shelter for all? What policy and cultural changes will it take to get to a housing market that is broadly affordable and responsive to local needs?
Speaker: Daniel Herriges
Take Back Your Streets: Tactical Urbanism in Kansas City, MO
What’s the smallest, easiest step you can take to make your community safer and more prosperous? Often, it’s about making simple changes to the street you live on, through tactical urbanism. From traffic cones to curb extensions to the many uses of paint, urban planners Abby Kinney and Kevin Klinkenberg will show you how they’re trying to transform Kansas City one incremental step at a time. You’ll learn how to identify, design, and implement small-scale changes that can make a big difference in your neighborhood.
Speakers: Abby Kinney and Kevin Klinkenberg
Uncovering What’s Wrong With the Property Tax Assessment System and Holding Local Governments Accountable
The system we use to determine property taxes is broken. Sloppy math and systemic accounting issues are giving the richest a discount on property taxes, and leading to overcharges on the less wealthy. Not only is this unjust, but it’s also straining town and city budgets. You’ll hear from Joe Minicozzi and Lanier Hagerty of Urban3 about the Just Accounting initiative, which has been analyzing property taxes in Western North Carolina and finding glaring inequities in the assessment process. Learn what you need to know to do the math and challenge the system in your community. This session will present the final report that concludes an 18-month research and advocacy process spearheaded by Urban3, Strong Towns, the Racial Justice Coalition of Asheville, and the University of North Carolina Asheville’s Department of Health and Wellness, with funding from the Dogwood Health Trust.
Speakers: Joe Minicozzi and Lanier Hagerty (Urban3)
Safe and Productive Streets Walking Tour
One of the best ways to observe what’s working, and what needs work, in your community is to get out and walk the streets. In this session, you’ll do exactly that with Strong Towns Director of Community Action Edward Erfurt in the Charlotte neighborhood surrounding the convention hotel. Tapping into his expertise as an architect and urban designer, Edward will point out places where design changes could make streets safer and more economically productive.
Note: This tour has limited space for 15 people on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants should plan to walk several blocks, rain or shine, so bring walking shoes and the appropriate outdoor gear.
Speaker: Edward Erfurt
Running for Office as a Strong Towns Advocate (Panel)
Many Strong Towns members start with a simple question: What can I do to make my city or town better? For some, that journey leads all the way to elected office. You’ll hear from current, former, and prospective office holders from different-sized communities across the U.S. about their paths to enter government, their challenges and frustrations, and some success stories of putting Strong Towns principles into action.
Speakers: Angel Castillo, LeVette Fuller, and David S. Cantu. Moderated by Rachel Quednau.