The American Jobs Plan Delays Necessary Infrastructure Reform

The top-down approach puts systems ahead of people and politics ahead of place—which is not what we need if we want to actually fix our infrastructure.

When it Comes to Infrastructure, the American Jobs Plan is Business as Usual

The Plan pretends to dig us out of the infrastructure hole we've dug ourselves into. In reality, it's making the hole bigger.

The Half-Truth on Infrastructure at the Heart of the American Jobs Plan

The story has been that we don’t spend enough on infrastructure. But what’s the whole truth?

Michael Odiari: Putting a Check on Deadly Traffic Stops

Routine traffic stops don’t make anyone safer. But here’s how technology might.

Marohn, Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsApril 12, 2021policing, traffic stops, technology, podcast

The American Jobs Plan Will Make Our Infrastructure Crisis Worse

There is nothing in the plan that is going to substantively change the trajectory of the North American development pattern.

The Mailbox: Can traffic cameras make our streets safer?

Our streets are “dangerous by design.” We answer a listener’s question about the role of automated enforcement in making them safer.

Strong Towns on CNN: Going "Big" on Road Projects Won't Fix American Cities

The new infrastructure bill will have big goals. But big new road projects won’t actually help us meet those goals.

Marohn, Top StoryRachel QuednauMarch 23, 2021urban freeways, infrastructure bill, success stories, texas, louisiana, indiana

TEDx Video: What makes for a strong town?

Watch—and then share—Chuck Marohn’s TEDx video. It’s an excellent 14-minute introduction on what makes a strong town.

Marohn, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 8, 2021

Should we do this project? A Strong Towns answer.

Our answer to this question is a pair of filters. If you can’t pass these filters, it’s a bad project.

La mayor parte de la participación pública es inútil

Son las experiencias de personas reales que deben guiar nuestros esfuerzos de planificación. Sus acciones son los datos que deberíamos recopilar, no sus preferencias declaradas.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnFebruary 23, 2021community engagement, strong towns approach

What We Can Learn From the Skinniest Home in London

London’s thinnest house just went on sale. Here are two takeaways we shouldn’t miss.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnFebruary 15, 2021value per acre

Wasting Time, Wasting Money

What’s the cost of wasting 12 years?

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnFebruary 8, 2021suburban experiment, south carolina

El caso clásico

Si bien se necesitan nuevos fondos para el transporte, más dinero sin una reforma significativa es peor que ningún financiamiento. Tenemos que seguir oponiéndonos a todos estos esfuerzos de financiación hasta que se ponga sobre la mesa una reforma seria.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnFebruary 2, 2021Spanish, end highway expansion

Allison Schrager: "The only insurance against uncertainty is resilience."

Understanding risk and uncertainty—and the difference between the two—can help local communities face the unknown.

Podcast, Marohn, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 25, 2021risk, economics

How to Start Asking the Right Questions about Infrastructure Funding

It’s possible to grow and accumulate wealth…but not without intention. That starts with asking the right question. "How do we get more money for infrastructure?" is the wrong question.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJanuary 25, 2021Asset Recycling, local government, risk

Esquema Ponzi de crecimiento de Estados Unidos

El patrón de desarrollo estadounidense crea la ilusión de riqueza. Hoy estamos en el proceso de ver esa ilusión destruida ... y con ella la prosperidad que hemos llegado a dar por sentada.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJanuary 19, 2021Spanish, growth ponzi scheme

If we want to make things better, we’ll have to do it ourselves.

The only way to fix what is broken is from the bottom up, starting with a covenant between each other.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJanuary 18, 20212020 election, taking action, localism, race

Can a nation of strong towns compete in a globalized world? (And how much should that matter?)

If every local community in the United States found themselves independently stable, prosperous, and self-sufficient, would we need competition with other nations?

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJanuary 8, 2021Strong Towns Book