Posts in Community Stories
Right Place, Right Time: How Advocates in Omaha are Making Streets Safer

Here’s how advocates in Omaha, Nebraska, got their Department of Public Works to complete a quick-build street safety project so fast that “it felt like waving a magic wand.” (Hint: Find out if your community has a business improvement district, stat.)

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These Cities Recently Passed Parking Reforms (and Yours Can Too)

We’ve assembled a guide to three towns and cities of varying sizes that have recently revised their parking regulations. That way, when you decide to pursue parking reform in your own community, you can use them as examples of how parking reform strengthens cities.

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Parking Mandate Reform Brings a Little Bit of Good for Everyone

Parking reform isn't just about eliminating spaces; it's about unlocking a city's potential. From spurring development to enabling affordable housing, parking reform can benefit many people in diverse ways. Anchorage, Alaska, is experiencing this firsthand.

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How To Use Pilot Projects To Increase Collaboration and Get Things Done

Working with your local engineers and transportation officials can be challenging. How do you collaborate with people who are often responsible for the bad infrastructure in your place? One successful group focuses on bringing positivity and concrete suggestions to the conversation.

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Small Wins and Dedicated Allies: Why We’re Undaunted by Everything We’re Up Against

From a dangerous transportation system to a development pattern that siphons wealth instead of building it, people who are trying to build stronger towns face many daunting challenges. The good news is that they’re rising to the occasion. Here are a few examples of how people really can change the world one block, neighborhood or city at a time.

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Habitat for Humanity: Lessons From the Front Lines of the Housing Crisis

Habitat for Humanity offers a wide range of programs to help people become homeowners, giving the organization a unique perspective on the housing crisis. Strong Towns sat down with two representatives to learn about this perspective, including how Habitat is handling high building costs and why Habitat owners participate in the construction of their homes.

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Citizens Rally to Turn a Dangerous Stroad Into a Successful Community Hub

Economic productivity, cost-effectiveness and safety: stroads fail at all three. Advocates in Port Huron, Michigan, are working to make their city recognize that, so they can turn the dangerous Huron Avenue into a thriving community center.

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75-Year-Old Houston Advocate Refuses To Surrender to Highway Expansion Project

At 75, she didn’t think she’d spend her time fighting freeways, but that’s exactly where Susan Graham finds herself. Founder of Stop TxDOT I-45, Graham has been fighting highway expansion in Houston for almost five years — and she’s nowhere near done. (Get to know Graham before she brings her knowledge to the national stage at the Strong Towns National Gathering, May 14-15!)

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Maumee, OH, Is Taking Back Its Streets—By Removing Them

Like many U.S. towns, Maumee, OH, has a state highway that cuts through their Uptown. For decades, it’s been known as a dangerous road…but no longer: the city is taking back its streets and making them places for people, not cars.

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"What’s the Most Exciting City for Cycling Nerds? New York? Minneapolis? How About Edmonton?"

In 2015, Edmonton, a city of 1 million situated in the Canadian Prairies of Alberta, was the first city in the country to adopt Vision Zero—and they’ve taken that adoption seriously.

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