CNN and Beyond: The Strong Towns Message is Spreading

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Earlier this fall, Strong Towns president Charles Marohn was invited to submit an op-ed to CNN Business about infrastructure investment. During an economic downturn like the one we’re living through, politicians on both sides of the aisle are—as usual—proposing massive investments in new road infrastructure. And we stand firmly against such plans. These proposals waste precious public dollars on projects that are proven to do little to make driving easier or safer, and much to harm our neighborhoods and cities.

That’s the Strong Towns message Chuck Marohn shared in this essay, “Building more roads won’t help fix America’s economy.” Here’s an excerpt:

Already burdened with massive maintenance backlogs and claims on future cash flows, state and local governments are now watching the pandemic strip them of their ability to respond to infrastructure issues. […]  At the same time cities and states are reaching the breaking point on road maintenance, the money they were counting on is not there. 

Even if cities and states can get funding from the federal government for more frontage roads, interchanges, bridges and lane miles, is that really the best approach? […]

Instead of pursuing economic growth through system expansion, recovery must be based on a firm commitment to maintaining what has already been built and squeezing higher returns out of these existing infrastructure investments. This will require a nuanced and hyper-local approach to future transportation spending, one where local governments take their cue from the urgent needs of residents…

Read the rest on CNN Business.

This op-ed (and the ones that will follow) are part of our long-term strategy to grow this movement across the continent. We’re glad for the chance to share the Strong Towns approach with a new audience, raising the profile and reach of our movement.

Thank you for being part of this movement—for showing up in your communities every day, working to make them stronger step by step. We’re building momentum together and seeing the transformative power of small bets and incremental change, starting from the bottom-up, not driven by distant leaders unfamiliar with local needs.

Just this week alone, we heard from a college professor in Nebraska who is using our Strong Towns 101 course in his classroom. We heard from a friend in Kansas City who is seeing the Strong Towns approach applied in community-wide conversations about downtown development. We read a letter to the editor in a California newspaper, written by a woman who is applying Strong Towns ideas to street design issues in her city. This movement is growing and transforming communities.

If you want to help us continue to reach more people and share tools and resources broadly to build stronger towns, please support this movement by becoming a member today. You’ll join thousands of people across North America who are part of a bottom-up revolution for prosperity together.

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