I Was One of the First 100 Strong Towns Members. Now, I’m One of Thousands.

I often do sketches of the places that inspire me while traveling. This is one I drew of Jackson Square in New Orleans, which Chuck and I passed through a dozen times when we first met. (Source: Edward Erfurt.)

This year’s Member Week at Strong Towns is a particularly special one to me. I’ve been a member and advocate for Strong Towns for a very long time, and I have watched the Strong Towns message resonate with people across the country. I have witnessed what Chuck describes as a “red pill” moment, when a person realizes why their community is struggling financially or why the latest expensive roadway project creates more problems than it promised to solve. For the past 15 years, I have shared the Strong Towns message in the communities where I’ve worked, and I have connected with many like-minded individuals that have a passion for making their community a Strong Town.  

Each week, Chuck shares insights through the Strong Towns Podcast, and closes each episode by saying, “Keep doing what you can to build strong towns.” This sign-off resonates as a challenge for our members to take the next smallest step to improve their community. As a result, Strong Towns members are actively sharing and promoting new approaches and principles that are beginning to change the conversations within each of our communities. Terms like “stroads” and concepts like the Growth Ponzi Scheme are being shared and discussed at city halls and local coffee shops across the county.  

For Strong Towns members, Chuck’s sign-off has also been interpreted as a challenge to find ways to improve the Strong Towns organization and for ways to reach more people. Members help frame the movement and enrich what we do as an organization. Strong Towns board member Ian Rasmussen once shared the Party Analogy with us, which holds that if you throw a party and everyone who shows up brings more to eat and drink than they themselves will consume, then everyone who shows up is making your party better. The members of Strong Towns bring way more to the party than they can consume, and they make Strong Towns stronger. 

Chuck’s recent announcement where he welcomed me to the Strong Towns team provided me the opportunity to do a little reminiscing. An interesting fact is that Strong Towns did not always have a membership program. In 2013, I was part of a group of friends that challenged the Strong Towns Board to create a membership program which could formalize member support of Strong Towns. We wanted to be more than just consumers of the Strong Towns content, we wanted to actively participate with each other and contribute to the broader mission. I am proud to be one of the first 100 members of Strong Towns, and now in 2022, the membership has grown to over 3,600 people.

More recently, the members of Strong Towns asked for direction and for more tools to implement a Strong Towns approach in their cities and neighborhoods. Members wanted to move from just being nudged to being fully empowered to take action. The Board accepted this challenge from the membership and the Strong Towns Strategic Plan was updated to include a vision as to how Strong Towns will mobilize the movement for action. This mobilization builds and supports the unique talent the Strong Towns members have by connecting resources, examples, and people to the on-the-ground conditions they are experiencing within their own communities. These connections and this networking occur in many forms, which have found a home at Strong Towns within the Action Lab website.  

The work of Strong Towns would not be possible without our members and your continued support. The membership doesn’t just provide the financial support to advance the Strong Towns message: your participation as members also challenges Strong Towns to do more to advance our message and mobilize action in our communities. If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to join this movement by becoming a member of Strong Towns.

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