Sometimes, small advocacy efforts seem like they’re not worth the time or effort. But every small action plants seeds for future change, both in your city and in yourself.
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On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck answers housing questions submitted by Ohio State University students, covering topics from the history of the housing market to financing housing development.
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Sara Studdard is a community engagement and communications expert who helps cities implement active mobility plans. She joins today’s episode to explore how having a variety of mobility options benefits communities, as well as the importance of effective messaging and communication.
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Buses are an important part of a city’s transportation system, but they’re considered a mode of last resort for many people. Here’s why it’s important to make bus systems more appealing — and a few ideas on to do so.
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Having to shut down major pieces of infrastructure because it can’t afford to repair or replace them is a bad position for a city to be in. But in some cases, it’s just the wake-up call officials need to start making better decisions.
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In this episode, host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Sully Israel, a Local Conversation leader, to discuss his group’s efforts to keep their city’s main street closed to cars.
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Allowing housing units to be built on small or irregular lots is a gamechanger for cities that are fighting the housing crisis. Here’s why that allowance is so important and how three developers are using small units and creativity to bring more housing options to their communities.
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The Christmas Cookie Inflation Index has risen 6.2% in the last year. This is compared to the official inflation rate of 2.6%.
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Driving from my dismal exurban hotel to the walkable downtown of a Florida beach town led me to a resolution: Start seeking out the kind of lodging that accentuates the best reasons for visiting a place, and hopefully discourage the kind of development that’s contributing to its demise.
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Modern zoning, building and fire codes make it impossible to build many of the types of housing that people actually want to live in. Reforming those codes to allow for single-stair construction can help undo some of this damage.
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In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about satellite communities and the psychological phenomena that incline people toward large projects.
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In this episode, host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Ken Kunka, a consultant and coach for small-scale developers, to talk about the ways he helps people build stronger communities.
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To build a Strong Town is to develop governing habits and shared cultural understandings that result in a long run of small wins that may be individually imperceptible but cumulatively result in broad and meaningful change. Today, I want to share one of those small wins with you.
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Jaime Izurieta is an architect, designer and author who focuses on the interaction between users and the built environment. He joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss the importance of designing experiences and how local leaders can make their downtowns more successful.
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Each Black Friday, we invite people to participate in the Strong Towns movement by sharing pictures of parking in their communities that is excessive or underused — even on the busiest shopping day of the year. But with parking reform gaining momentum across North America, what comes after #BlackFridayParking?
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In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the balancing act of building density in a place without wasting natural resources like mature trees.
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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.
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In 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.
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The 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.
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Liability 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.
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