9 Neighborhood Events for Next to Nothing

Connecting with your neighbors is an important part of building a stronger town. Here are nine ways you can start forging those relationships, for free (or next to free)!

Emma Durand-Wood, Top StoryEmma Durand-WoodMay 18, 2023community, neighborliness, neighborhoods

Parking Regulations Threaten to Demolish Coffee Shop

In Kansas City, KS, parking regulations threaten to demolish local coffee shop Kinship Cafe for a parking lot. The cafe’s owner, T.J. Roberts, joins us today on Upzoned to talk about his struggle to save his business.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsMay 17, 2023podcast, parking minimums, coffee shops, Third Places, upzoned, end parking mandates and subsidies

How the Design of Corners Affects Speed

You may be surprised by how often corners are designed for speed, not safety. The good news is, this can be fixed.

Top StoryRuth Rosas, Mike McGinn, and Ian ThomasMay 17, 2023Street Design, safety, speeding, speed, pedestrians, safe and productive streets

In Conversation With an Expert: Melany Alliston of Toole Design

Crash Analysis Studio panelist Melany Alliston shares what challenges exist in ameliorating our built environment today, and what stood out in the crash she analyzed in Indianapolis.

Top StoryAsia MieleszkoMay 16, 2023Crash Analysis Studio, car crash, Street Design, safe and productive streets, indiana

Four Lenses for Better Understanding Your City

Cities are complex systems, and wrapping your mind around them can be tough. Here are some frameworks to guide you.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedMay 16, 2023cities, complex systems, resilience

Raleigh Woman Battles City Hall to Reopen Her Great-Grandparents' Neighborhood Store

Reopening a neighborhood store that was a fixture in its community for decades shouldn’t be this hard.

Top Story, Community Stories, TrendingAsia MieleszkoMay 15, 2023local food, food deserts, corner store, corner stores, North Carolina, markets, local regulation, local business, small business, safe and productive streets, neighborhoods

The Road Expansion Lobby Doesn’t Want You to Read This

Let’s bust five myths on this highway expansion project.

Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodMay 15, 2023highways, highway spending, local government, budget, freeway widening, induced demand, end highway expansion, transparent local accounting, canada

5 Reasons Why Office-to-Residential Conversions Are a Serious Challenge

Many agree that encouraging residential construction in underutilized urban areas is a good idea, but here’s why turning an office building into an apartment isn’t always so easy, in practice.

Top StoryBen AbramsonMay 12, 2023Incremental Housing, housing, downtown, developers, development

No Community Should Have To Wait a Year or More To Take Action After a Traffic Death

When someone loses their life on your community’s streets, everyone needs to be prepared to take immediate action to prevent future deaths.

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward ErfurtMay 12, 2023Crash Analysis Studio, car crash, safety, pedestrians, little bets, safe and productive streets

The Federal Government’s Congestion Mitigation Money Almost Paid for a Parking Garage

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is concerned about decreased ridership on public transit... So, why is it pushing for time and money to be spent on more car infrastructure?

News, Top StoryAsia MieleszkoMay 11, 2023transit, transportation, infrastructure, garages, end parking mandates and subsidies, pennsylvania, public transportation

Connecting With Your Community Is Easier (and More Powerful) Than You May Think

And it begins with just showing up!

Emma Durand-Wood, Community Stories, Top StoryEmma Durand-WoodMay 11, 2023community, community building, local conversations

The Problems With Police Crash Reports

More and more transportation agencies are incorporating the use of police crash reports to determine empirically if a road is safe. Here’s why that doesn’t work.

Top StorySeairra JonesMay 10, 2023Crash Analysis Studio, car crash, policing, transportation, pedestrians, department of transportation, safe and productive streets, engineers

Fighting the Highway in Your Backyard

These Louisiana advocates are on the front lines taking on the powerful network of highway-building interests—and they’re here to teach you how to do that work in your community, too.

Top StoryStrong TownsMay 10, 2023National Gathering

Is Parking Reform Hurting the Poor in San Francisco?

Public policy has winners and losers, and parking reform is, unfortunately, no exception. So how should that knowledge impact the way we approach parking reform?

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 10, 2023parking minimums, poverty, housing, housing affordability, housing cost, end parking mandates and subsidies, california

A Welcome Sign in Texas Kept Getting Hit. TxDOT Wanted Nothing To Do With It.

TxDOT’s inertia in response to this series of crashes in Killeen, TX, exhibits just how narrowly transportation agencies view their commitment to road safety.

News, Top StoryAsia MieleszkoMay 9, 2023DOT, transportation, car crash, safety, public safety, engineers, traffic engineering, texas, safe and productive streets

Give a Little Grace

Rapid villainization is easy; grace for city staffers and elected officials is the harder path.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedMay 9, 2023city government, local government, city council, advocacy

Alan Fisher and CityNerd to Join Strong Towns at the National Gathering

Join Alan Fisher, CityNerd, Tiffany Owens Reed, and John Simmerman as they teach you how to get started on content creation and reach new audiences receptive to the Strong Towns message.

Top StoryStrong TownsMay 8, 2023National Gathering

Strong Towns Chats Lead to $100k Grant for Sioux Falls Neighborhood

In 2018, a group of concerned citizens met in a South Dakota coffee shop to talk about their city’s problems. Now, they’re working with a $100k budget for small-scale—but big-impact—projects in their community.