This Canadian city made an unprecedented decision to stop expanding its urban growth boundary. What comes next?
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Sarasota County, FL, is viewed as a trailblazer in the prevention of unchecked suburbanization. So why has its growth management plan has not resulted in a better pattern of development?
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Technocratic growth management in Florida has failed, and a new conversation is needed. Let's start that conversation now.
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In this new series, we’re looking at Collier County as a case study for how insolvent growth persists in Florida. What's the history behind Collier’s development, and where is it headed?
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Incremental change doesn’t mean slow change. In fact, unleashing the power of the many to make small changes in response to immediate needs may be the only approach that is up to the scale of the problems our cities face.
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After World War II, the federal government subsidized a massive suburban experiment that was completely unprecedented in human history. But—as a mostly-forgotten 1942 manual by the Department of Commerce makes clear—it didn’t have to be that way.
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The ultimate irony of our economic system is that the only mechanism we have to satisfy our needs is to increase our neediness.
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We fix our fragile economy by leaning into neighborliness and human decency.
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We created debt to serve us. Now we serve debt.
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The greatest threat to our economic model isn’t recession or even depression. It’s that we become content with our lives.
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We've traded stability for growth, but now we find that we have neither.
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The famous "Growth Machine" theory of local politics explains a lot about the shape of our cities and their present-day problems. But not in the way you think.
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No, you’re not stuck in congestion because your city’s infrastructure is “inadequate” to handle growth.
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The numbers don’t lie: business-as-usual suburban development won’t bring a booming town long-term financial strength. But it turns out that to #DoTheMath is only the first step toward changing your community's business model.
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Rural communities across the Midwest are careening toward collapse, and all at the same time. What this means for the region as a whole. Small towns need Strong Towns too.
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Many cities think they need to grow to get strong. But adding thousands of additional acres to the city and millions of dollars in infrastructure is usually the last thing a city needs. It’s like trying to lose weight by consuming more pizza and beer.
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Building stronger towns isn’t just about planning, engineering and development. We need to address questions about cultivating rich and abundant lives in our neighborhoods. How do we live out our values when so much of the built environment seems to be working against us?
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Our economic system prizes growth above all. This has created a looming disaster, at both the local and national levels. How did we get here? And is there an alternative?
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A bill that has passed the Florida Senate proposes to build over 300 miles of new toll roads deep into rural areas of the state. Proponents claim it’s necessary to prepare for coming population growth. They couldn’t be more wrong.
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The discipline of not acquiring more until we've wrung true value out of what we already possess can make our lives richer and fuller. And this is a lesson we need to apply to our cities as well.
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