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Strong Towns Archive
An archive of articles, podcasts, webpages and more from Strong Towns.
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What if They Passed Zoning Reform and Nobody Came?
What if They Passed Zoning Reform and Nobody Came?

Last November, Minneapolis made duplexes and triplexes legal on any residential lot—an achievement that became a model for other towns and cities. Let’s check in.

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Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 3, 2020zoning, single-family, minnesota
Can the Right and Left Come Together on Zoning Reform?
Can the Right and Left Come Together on Zoning Reform?

Zoning reform is an opportunity for common ground for those on the political Right and Left. What will it take to get there?

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Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 2, 2020single-family, zoning, politics, upzoned, podcast
Strong Towns is Hiring!
Strong Towns is Hiring!

Strong Towns has an open position. If you want to be part of the Strong Towns Team, this is your opportunity!

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Top StoryStrong TownsSeptember 2, 2020Strong Towns, jobs
In Praise of Streetcar Suburbs
In Praise of Streetcar Suburbs

The streetcar suburb was the dominant development type in American cities between about 1890-1930. What lessons can we learn about how to build our cities today?

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Top StoryPete SaundersSeptember 2, 2020suburbs, Streetcars, development pattern, urban planning
When Streets Were For Everyone
When Streets Were For Everyone

An incredible video from 1906 San Francisco—colorized and digitally remastered—depicts a time when streets were truly available for every type of user.

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Top StoryArian HorbovetzSeptember 1, 2020history, public transportation, california
The Myth of the Template Store
The Myth of the Template Store

Chain stores often claim they can’t break from their standard design templates when moving into your city. Don’t believe it.

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Top StoryAndrew PriceSeptember 1, 2020design, urban planning
What Vacancy Rates Tell You About a Housing Shortage (And What They Don't)
What Vacancy Rates Tell You About a Housing Shortage (And What They Don't)

Vacancy rates are a crucial piece of bottom-up feedback. They can tell us when the housing ecosystem is out of equilibrium. But there are larger questions they can’t answer.

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Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 31, 2020housing, affordable housing, housing crisis, renters
The Trillion Dollar Question Facing Every Major American City
The Trillion Dollar Question Facing Every Major American City

The “growth machine” is too big to fail. What if it fails anyway?

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MarohnCharles MarohnAugust 31, 2020Ponzi Scheme, transportation spending, california, growth ponzi scheme
Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup
Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

Pulling back the curtains on travel demand forecasting, a timely series on rural mayors, and why some neighborhoods are hotter than others. These are just a few of the stories from around the web that Strong Towns staffers were reading and talking about this week.

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Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 28, 2020friday faves
The Growth Ponzi Scheme: A Crash Course
The Growth Ponzi Scheme: A Crash Course

Ponzi schemes fail because they are built on illusions: there is no there there. So what happens when an entire continent of towns and cities is caught up in a kind of Growth Ponzi Scheme? We are finding out.

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Top StoryJohn PattisonAugust 28, 2020growth ponzi scheme, strong towns 101
Want to build a city that works for everyone? Start by looking inside.
Want to build a city that works for everyone? Start by looking inside.

When you want to change a community, you begin by changing your own behaviors. Here are 9 small (yet powerful) actions to get started.

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Top StoryQuint StuderAugust 28, 2020race
"Public engagement" is about knowing your neighbors, not planning a meeting.
"Public engagement" is about knowing your neighbors, not planning a meeting.

Most public engagement is “worse than worthless.” But it doesn’t have to be. These 5 basic steps will lay the groundwork for a community where residents truly guide the future of their city.

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Top StoryRachel QuednauAugust 27, 2020community engagement, public engagement, pennsylvania
Pandemic Fallout: Will New York City Experience Long-term Decline?
Pandemic Fallout: Will New York City Experience Long-term Decline?

The pandemic is exposing the fragility of the New York City’s rental economy. Vacancy rates are the highest they’ve been in over 10 years, and rent costs are dropping. What might this say about the city’s long road to recovery?

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Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 26, 2020rent, upzoned, covid, new york
Asphalt City: How Parking Ate an American Metropolis
Asphalt City: How Parking Ate an American Metropolis

Parking is so ubiquitous that it’s hard to see just how much we have of it. But the data shows us. The data also reveals what a waste of precious resources all that parking is.

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HerrigesDaniel HerrigesAugust 26, 2020parking minimums, end parking mandates and subsidies, missouri
Why Cities Should Tap Into the Power of "Joyful Interventions"
Why Cities Should Tap Into the Power of "Joyful Interventions"

Quick, inexpensive interventions do more than add a little color to a place. They can catalyze the transformation of a neighborhood into a better connected, more prosperous place.

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Top StoryMarisa SchulzAugust 25, 2020creative placemaking, placemaking, mural
The Corner: What Will It Take for an Unproductive Intersection to Give Rather than Take?
The Corner: What Will It Take for an Unproductive Intersection to Give Rather than Take?

An unproductive intersection looks different to different people: engineers, departments of transportation, tax assessors, etc. But bringing it to life starts with seeing it through still someone else’s eyes.

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Top StoryGenevieve BarberAugust 25, 2020success stories, intersections, public investment, georgia
An Old Building Should Get A Birthday Present
An Old Building Should Get A Birthday Present

The oldest buildings in your city have endured for a reason. They’re also the ones most likely to be around long into the future. Why not show them a little love?

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Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 24, 2020architecture, traditional development pattern
Now Is the Time to End Traffic Fatalities. Here's a Simple Plan to Do It.
Now Is the Time to End Traffic Fatalities. Here's a Simple Plan to Do It.

We’ve engineered our streets for high performance when we should be engineering them for safety. Now’s the time to unwind the mess. Here’s how to do it.

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Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 24, 2020vision zero, traffic engineering, pedestrians, safe and productive streets
Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup
Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup

House-hunting in L.A., who will shape the future of New York City, and the fascinating story of a single median on a single street in St. Paul. These are a few of the stories from around the web that Strong Towns staffers were reading and talking about this week.

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Top StoryStrong TownsAugust 21, 2020friday faves
How a "Small Ball" Approach to Affordable Housing Hits a Home Run
How a "Small Ball" Approach to Affordable Housing Hits a Home Run

A program in Wisconsin demonstrates how small actions taken on the local level can have a huge financial and social impact on a community.

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Top StoryQuint StuderAugust 21, 2020housing affordability, wisconsin
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