Kids need free play, parents need support, and communities need connection. Expert Vanessa Elias explains how a simple block party can deliver all three.

Advocates in Cedar Park, Texas, used publicly available crash data to drive major safety improvements near their schools.

Every fall brings the same story: too few school bus drivers, too many kids left waiting. Some districts throw money at the problem. Others see an opening to make walking and biking safer.

Detroit residents are leading one of the most ambitious housing revivals in the country.

Oakland, California, recently cut a big piece of red tape around housing, making permits available online in minutes. This is an example for all cities that need more housing.

Kalamazoo cut red tape and launched pre-approved housing plans, making it faster and cheaper to build new homes. Other cities can do the same.

You probably wouldn’t be able to tell these two buildings apart, yet their economic performance couldn’t be more different. A deep dive by geospatial firm Urban3 shows why that’s the case.

Since California's new daylighting law was implemented, unsuspecting drivers have accumulated over $700,000 in fines. Local advocates are stepping up to change that.

Portland’s regional government is giving communities the data and tools they need to make streets safer.

Places are not static; they are dynamic. And sometimes, “for-awhile” uses can be the bridge that gets us from stagnation to vibrancy.

Late last month, a car smashed through a front porch along Park Avenue in Minneapolis — again. It’s time for the county to stop waiting and start acting.

Here’s how Lafayette, Louisiana, went from a dying downtown to #6 in the country for outdoor dining.

When cities attempt to prescribe the exact way a building must be used, they risk regulating away the very life of a place.

What the Finance Decoder revealed about Fayetteville, Springdale, and Siloam Springs—through the eyes of a local Strong Towns member.

The city of Artesia, California, has been struggling with a speeding problem. Instead of just blaming drivers, city staff teamed up with local advocates to address the root problem: the street design.

A 66% decrease in crashes wasn’t enough to protect these traffic diverters, but the unified efforts of local advocacy groups and city officials might be.

When our infrastructure makes normal childhood behavior life-threatening, allowing kids to do typical childhood activities becomes reckless endangerment.

Slow permitting, shifting utility requirements, and inconsistent rules threaten the small-scale development that cities rely on. Here’s one developer’s story.

Design doesn’t just reflect our values — it forms them. If we want citizens who are engaged, generous, and resilient, we need places that cultivate those virtues.

How a passionate group of locals cracked Nanaimo’s stubborn parking rules—and unlocked new possibilities for housing and community.

When a child is killed on a street like West Hudson Boulevard, it’s not a tragic fluke. It’s the outcome we designed for.

Four days. Three crashes. Two lives lost. One life changed forever. For residents of Fairhaven and New Bedford, this wasn’t just a bad weekend; it was a turning point.

Chicago and Denver just joined a growing list of cities including Anchorage, Minneapolis, and Austin in rethinking how city space is used, and what we pay for. 

After a car crash damaged three houses, these Minneapolis residents are done waiting for officials to act. They're demonstrating a better way of responding to crashes.