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...

Reinventing Poor Cities at Scale

By Charles Marohn, Strong Towns

Flint, MI presents a very compelling story. A city full of poor, disadvantaged people from which the affluent have fled. An economy in systematic decline where jobs have been shipped out and factories boarded up. Neighborhoods without basic investment to keep things livable. And, the acute, high profile tragedy of a water system delivering lead poisoning to its children. How can we not act?

So What about Beauty?

By Charles Marohn, Strong Towns

We can focus on building beautiful places but, as we say here at Strong Towns, financial solvency is a prerequisite to doing good.

Ain’t nobody got time for that

By Charles Marohn, Strong Towns

The last thing we did yesterday...is to give this initiative a name. We're calling it Sandbox, a collaborative platform to strengthen cities, towns and neighborhoods.