Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup
This week, the Strong Towns staff bids farewell to our friend and content manager, Jay Stange, as he moves on to a new position working for a local nonprofit in Hartford. We’re going to miss Jay and wish him the best of luck in his future ventures! If you haven’t already, check out some of the great writing he shared with us during his time here at Strong Towns, and keep in touch with him on Twitter at @corvidity.
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Here’s what Strong Towns staff were up to this week:
Robert Sansone. (Source: Interesting Engineering.)
Jay: I’ve got a lot of faith in generations younger than mine (Gen X, yo!). I’m a teacher and a coach and a dad, so I’ve seen what they can do! Let me introduce you to a 17-year-old engineer in Florida named Robert Sansone who has built animatronic hands, a 70-mph go-kart, and high-speed running boots. Among 60 different things he’s already invented is an improved version of a synchronous reluctance motor, which has the potential to power electric vehicles with greater torque and efficiency than traditional designs—and doesn’t require rare-earth metals.
I have a lot of confidence in the young staff at Strong Towns, as well, who will continue to correct the mistakes and celebrate the innovations of previous generations in re-building and re-imagining our places. I’m leaving the organization for a new policy and organizing job a little closer to my home in the capital region of Hartford, Connecticut. Thanks for reading and stay between the ditches.
Crater from the “Sedan” nuclear test. (Source: Wikimedia Commons.)
Chuck: Obsessive focus on a singular objective, combined with an intense allocation of resources and enfeebled political resistance, has led to a great many tragedies throughout history. Whether it was Roman armies traipsing across Parthia or the South Sea Company minting stock shares, such monumental myopia creates a hubris recognizable by all in time. I was shocked years ago when I learned that American civil engineers had seriously proposed using atomic bombs to level parts of the Rocky Mountains to accommodate the construction of a highway—giving further context to the profession’s use of the word “improvement.” I wasn’t aware of most of the stories in this article, but I’m all too aware of the mindset that led to their consideration.
Norm: In one corner of our backyard is a compost bin teeming with creepy crawlies. In the other is a bug hotel that my son and I constructed in March of 2020 of bricks, sticks, straws, and boards. We don’t know how many occupants it has at the moment because the first rule of bug hotels is to leave it be. But observing our tenement from a distance, it is clearly a testament to the forces of reclamation and rewilding that are operating in miniature in our yard. The once-fresh sign, advertising nightly stays for $100, is now faded and confirms that my son’s pricing scheme may have not raised enough money to pay for the regular upkeep that a building such as this requires. I’m glad I don’t have to stay in our bug hotel, but I bet there are ants, bees, spiders, and fleas that are glad it’s there. Do you have space to build one of your own? You might be surprised who shows up.
(Source: Unsplash.)
Seairra: In between the rain showers that have been sprinkling over Illinois, I drove myself out to a local park and set up in my favorite hammock spot. Before I took off, I couldn’t help but think of all the potential park areas within walking distance of my apartment. There’s this weird open space of nothing but grass and I can’t help but imagine what a difference it would make for the community if some trees were planted and benches put around. There’s also a parking lot down the street that I’ve never seen anyone use. This summer it was covered with overgrown weeds and even some wild sunflowers (a hint from mother nature of what we should be turning the space into, I’d say). Parks are a great option for a third place, known to boost land value, social engagements, and make for a more healthy community overall.
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Finally, from all of us, a warm welcome to the newest members of the Strong Towns movement: Zeke Balan, Timothy Cairnie-Richardson, Brad Callender, Scott Christopherson, Becky Cloyd, Tiffany Dale, Patrick Godfrey, Lulu Martin, Sam Mize, Joe Allan Muharsky, Erik Noonan, Marie Spoonhower, Rosanna Van Eeden Petersman, and Sean White.
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What stories got you thinking this week? Please share them in the comments!