Local governments often use terms that downplay, minimize or obscure the severity of a situation. While this isn’t a malicious or even conscious decision, using language that is inaccurate or that the general population doesn’t understand makes it very difficult to build a strong town.
Read MoreIn this episode, host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Julie Emery, a Local Conversation leader, to discuss how her group started their bus bench building program and how it’s evolving.
Read MoreThe East Coast Greenway spans 3,000 miles and is one of the most popular biking routes in the world. But as much as 65% of this route puts bikers in close contact with vehicles that are moving at high speeds. This has predictably terrible results.
Read MoreLiability caps mean that a city can’t be forced to pay victims of traffic crashes above a certain amount, even in cases of gross negligence. This may seem unjust, but this kind of protection can encourage city officials and employees to be proactive in addressing past mistakes and making streets safer. Here’s how.
Read MoreIn the battle for street safety, crossing guards are on the front lines. Their verdict: The streets outside of schools are extremely unsafe. One crossing guard in Denver decided to do something about it.
Read MoreKaty Clagett is a commercial real estate appraiser and activist. She joins the podcast today to talk about the ways that bottom-up projects can build community, as well as her experiences with spearheading this kind of project.
Read MoreHere’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.)
Read MoreIn this episode, host Abby Newsham is joined by Andrew Ganahl, managing partner of a real estate development company that specializes in urban infill housing, to discuss townhouses.
Read MoreOn this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses safe streets advocacy with Amy Cohen, the co-founder and president of Families for Safe Streets.
Read MoreYou’ve just completed a Crash Analysis Studio and you have a report in hand. Or you found the "Beyond Blame" report compelling and you want to share it with your community. Now what?
Read MoreIn this episode of Bottom-Up Shorts, host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Sarah, a Local Conversation leader, to talk about the bike racks she and her friends have been building and installing around their city.
Read MoreBuild a bipartisan coalition. Launch a pilot project. Speak to the core issues facing your community. That’s how Spokane, Washington, was able to eliminate costly parking mandates. Here's the full story.
Read More"Be the change you want to see in the world." It’s a slogan many aspire to live by, including Professor Gingrich of Dordt University in Iowa. He’s doing just that this year, bringing his students to the forefront of the evolving traffic engineering field by training them in crash analysis and safe street design.
Read MoreI’ve mostly left Twitter/X over the past few months. Strong Towns, the organization, has pulled back substantially, as well. I want to explain why because it’s for different reasons than the increasing partisan divide (although that doesn’t help).
Read MoreIn this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck explains how election years affect a nonpartisan nonprofit like Strong Towns. It’s kind of ugly, but it doesn’t change our mission.
Read MoreLike many Strong Towns advocates, you may struggle with imposter syndrome, feeling like you’re not qualified enough to talk to city officials and staff about changing the way cities are designed or operated. But it’s essential that you keep speaking up. Here’s why.
Read MoreAll of the land used in cities can be divided into two categories: Places and Non-Places. Places are productive destinations, while Non-Places are unproductive padding between destinations. Once these Places and Non-Places are marked on a map, it becomes obvious how much land cities waste on Non-Places.
Read MoreCollaboration (or community input) is discussed at great length within the urban planning profession, but it’s often lost in actual practice.
Read MoreIn this debut episode of Bottom-Up Shorts, host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Manav Sharma, a Local Conversation leader, to discuss his group’s use of stickers in their advocacy.
Read MoreStrong Towns ideas have started permeating the wider culture at an increasing rate. But even as many cities and organizations embrace the movement, others twist it to serve their own agendas. Now more than ever, the movement needs advocates who uphold the true principles of building strong towns. It needs you.
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