“Greening” Our Commutes

By John Pattison, Strong Towns

The good news: We can get cleaner commutes right now by building cities that are walkable and bikeable. What if commuting by car or truck wasn’t an absolute necessity for so many people?

My Family’s Kansas City Story

By Sarah Davis, Strong Towns

And, maybe, the South Town Fork Creek neighborhood will eventually be seen as more of a destination, rather than somewhere you speed past on your way to and from downtown.

Walkability and the culture wars

By Daniel Herriges, Strong Towns

Even if you do take this study's results at face value, it's a stretch to interpret its major takeaway as, "Most Americans don't want walkable places."

Taking (democratic) control of one’s own traffic

By Russell Arben Fox, In media res

The fundamental focus in this book is traffic, meaning the movement of people and goods along streets and roads, which is literally the lifeblood, the circulatory system, of any urbanized space.

Why My Older, Smaller Library Was Better

By Arian Horbovetz, Strong Towns

Only by reaching out to the community at large can we fully understand how a neighborhood connects with the key resources in its midst.

We Don’t Live in a World of Cartoon Villains

By Daniel Herriges, Strong Towns

There are people at every part of that spectrum who care about building local resilience. The Strong Towns approach is radical, but not in a way that fits into ideologues' narrative boxes.

The Local Case for Reparations

By Charles Marohn, Strong Towns

What form should reparations take? How much should they be? Who should pay them? Who should receive them? How should that transfer be made? What will happen if this is done? Would it really help anyone?

The Growth Ponzi Scheme: A Crash Course

By John Pattison, Strong Towns

One of the early insights of the Strong Towns movement was that the way North American cities have been built since World War II resembles, more than anything, a massive Ponzi scheme.

Dangerous Nostalgia for the 1950s and 1960s

By Kevin Klinkenberg, Strong Towns

Well-done, compact cities and towns are incredibly livable and pleasurable, as well as more financially sustainable. Humans are very adaptable and resilient, and the transition to whatever is next should also give us more excitement than sorrow or remorse. The America of the 50s and 60s is over. The party has long since petered out. That's a good thing. Let’s clean up and move on to something better.

The Localist Theory of Charles Marohn’s Wonderfully Practical Strong Towns

By Russell Arben Fox, In media res

In fact, Strong Towns is one of those rare books (Wendell Berry's classic The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture is another) whose argument itself exemplifies what it advocates for: it builds towards a challenge to the whole way we conceive of its chosen focus by beginning with the most local and particular relevant matters possible.

Why I Never Moved to Portland

By Sarah Kobos, Strong Towns

My advice for young adults everywhere is this: pick an issue you’re passionate about and volunteer. You’ll meet people who care about the same things, and more importantly, you’ll be DOING SOMETHING to make the world a better place.

3 Lessons for Building a Great Community: From a Very Small Town

By Austin Maitland, Strong Towns

Millbrook is located 15 miles northeast of Poughkeepsie in upstate New York. As of 2016, the population stood at 1,413. It’s a small village, but offers some big ideas when it comes to building a great community. Here are three important, scalable lessons offered by the small community...