Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup
Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn kicked off the Confessions Book Tour this week in Austin, Texas.
Next week is the release of the new book from Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn: Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town. We’re throwing a virtual launch party on Tuesday and we’d love for you to join us. You can RSVP here.
On a somber note, this week a storm named Ida left a path of deadly devastation from Louisiana and Mississippi to the mid-Atlantic. At least 40 people have been killed. The thoughts and prayers of the Strong Towns staff go out to the many folks whose lives and livelihoods have been impacted by the storm.
Here’s what Strong Towns staff were up to this week:
Image via Pixabay.
Daniel: If you’ve ever heard anyone make the claim, “There are far more vacant homes in the United States than there are homeless people,” you should know two things. One, that statement is absolutely true. Two, it doesn’t mean what a lot of people think it means.
Darrell Owens, a housing policy analyst in Berkeley, California, has written a very lucid and well researched blog post—in an accessibly informal, not jargon-y or academic, tone—demystifying vacancy in the housing market, particularly in the overheated market of California cities. Owens explains what those vacancy statistics really mean, not just for the homeless but for anyone struggling to make rent, or anyone who wants to move for any reason. And he offers some solid insights as to how we should think about vacancy if our goal is to make housing work better for people.
Image via Curbed.
Rachel: This article from Curbed about how luxury apartment buildings barely 10 years old in New York City are already being gut renovated spoke to me. The status of luxury rentals in NYC isn’t a big concern for most people, naturally, me included. But what I do care about is the troubling culture it indicates: one that is all about instant gratification with no thought for the future. From the clothes we wear to the homes we live in, it seems very few things are built to last anymore, at least not in the West. That’s a huge loss and it means a huge expense for individuals and local governments in maintenance and replacement costs.
I look around at the new constructions going up in my city and none of them demonstrate artistry, longevity, or solidity. They are all about whatever trendy faucets and countertops are dominating Instagram, all about quickly building, with no thought given for their future in 20 or 50 years. This isn’t a rant against current architectural trends, but it’s about building places we can feel proud of and that will last for our children and grandchildren. I was talking with my brother about this recently and he raised the question: Will anyone want to visit our cities in a hundred years? Will there be anything for them to look at or admire in our downtowns, or will it just be dilapidated, deteriorating buildings? Alright, that got dark and existential pretty fast. Hit me up if you’re thinking about these questions. And then read this excellent article by Austin Tunnell from our site last week for a more hopeful take.
Image via the City of Kansas City, Missouri.
Sarah: Kansas City’s city manager recently signed an administrative regulation to ensure that the future of KC’s transit will be carbon neutral. From now on, any buses bought for the city have to be electric, with the goal of having a full electric fleet by 2030. This is a great step for Kansas City, it will improve air quality in the city, and that will have multiplying positive effects for the communities around the metro.
John: The U.K. recently passed a “right to repair” law that will require manufacturers of certain products—including refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, TVs, and electric motors—to make spare parts publicly available. The goal is to combat planned obsolescence and increase the average lifespan of white goods (a term I hadn’t heard before) from seven years to 10. The law has been criticized for not going far enough, while companies like Apple are arguing from the opposite direction, saying laws like this one will lead to substandard repairs. This article in The Guardian highlights the work of artists who, with or without a law, have been making a “fine art of repairing broken things.” Aya Haidar, for example, who embroiders images of migrants’ journeys on the soles of their worn-out shoes. And Chris Miller, who salvages and restores old lights destined for landfills. Writing in The Guardian, Katie Treggiden says artists like these can help us rethink our relationship with the objects around us: “Perhaps we can move away from the veneration of newness that is exemplified by unboxing videos on YouTube, and instead learn to celebrate the storied patina that comes with care and repair.”
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Finally, from all of us, a warm welcome to the newest members of the Strong Towns movement: Oliver Laurel, Benjamin Williams, Suzanne Poirier Cabrera, Joshua Semar, Gleb Sokolov, Isabella Zink, David La Fontaine, Natalie Muruato, Graham Boadway, Brian Osorio, Nick Zaiac, Nicholas Brake, Lindsey Fernandez, John Digeronimo, Felix De Portu, David Fouts, and Matt Schoolfield.
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What stories got you thinking this week? Please share them in the comments!