You’re Not Alone
In Newber, Oregon, George Fox University students Annabelle Wombacher, Jared Mar, Sierra Ratcliff and Benjamin Cahoon collaborated on the mural. Image by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.
On Wednesday, I introduced a few sections of the brand new Strong Towns Action Lab. To make their town or city more prosperous and resilient, an advocate needs the right information, and “the right information”—speaking very generally—was the focus of those sections:
Connect to Resources
Connect to Examples
Explore by Topic
But we believe a Strong Towns advocate should have more than just the right knowledge, data, materials, etc. They also need the support of other Strong Towns advocates, locally and around North America. As we say on our home page:
You’re not to blame. And you’re not alone.
We all inherited the development pattern invented by Americans in the last century. Most consider it normal, the way things are done, despite how radical an experiment it is. It’s only human to justify the pain and instability this new approach has caused, to focus on the symptoms, because an alternative is too difficult to imagine.
Yet, a prosperous alternative is available, and we all have a role to play in making it happen.
There’s a meaningful image we come back to often in staff discussions—that of the lone Strong Towns advocate standing up in a city council meeting to push back on a status quo proposal to widen a road, annex more land, or use expensive tax breaks to lure a big box store to town. All the momentum, and even accepted thinking, is arrayed against her. That can be a lonely feeling. But she’s not alone. You are not alone.
Today I’d like to draw your attention to a few other features of the Action Lab. If the other sections were—again, generally speaking—about connecting you to information, these other features are about connecting you with people...in your city and beyond.
A peek inside the Action Lab.
Connect to People
This section is focused on Local Conversations. Local Conversations are groups of Strong Towns advocates and members who live in the same place—a town, city, or particular neighborhood—and come together to make their place stronger using the Strong Towns approach. Since 2018, our readers and members have created more than 85 such groups. Connect to People will tell you more about how to find a Local Conversation near you, how to start your own, and how to nurture an existing group.
Community
The Community section, located in the top right-hand corner, will take you to a community forum. Right now there are three subsections, including a general discussion board, a job board, and a place to ask questions of the Strong Towns movement. The Action Lab was just launched this week; will you be the one to start the conversation there?
Submit a request
Also in the top right-hand corner of the navigation bar, this is where you can submit a question, comment or suggestion directly to the Strong Towns staff. If you have a question about something happening in your neighborhood, we strongly encourage you to ask it in Community forums; you can tap into the collective wisdom and experience of the whole movement, and Strong Staff will be active there.. But if you need to reach out directly to the organization, this is a good place to do it.
As said on Wednesday, if you have suggestions, send me an email.
On behalf of the Strong Towns staff, we look forward to seeing you in the Action Lab.