Neighborhood Storyteller
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Strong Towns Neighborhood Storyteller, Karla Theilen.
This year, we’re sharing a weekly column by Karla Theilen, our Neighborhood Storyteller. These stories show what it means to live a life of intention, one where our small and ordinary, everyday actions contribute to building stronger communities. Sign up for our emails to get updates on this column and other great articles! You can also subscribe to our Substack, Life in a Strong Town, to read Karla’s column and other similar stories.
Recent Articles
This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller connects with a new community and its residents through exploring downtown and some local businesses.
This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller reflects on the joy of finding pleasant surprises in unexpected places—including in one’s community.
Our Neighborhood Storyteller returns from her hiatus to share a tribute to her father, who has played a central role in several of her past stories.
Public spaces are an important investment, and as an example of a public space done right, look no further than Missoula, MT, which is home to the world’s best public library of 2022.
Stranded with a dying phone and no car, our Neighborhood Storyteller relies this week on public transit and the kindness of strangers to get where she needs to go.
Our Neighborhood Storyteller reflects on beating social isolation—even in isolated places.
This Sunday, a Strong Towns member invites our Neighborhood Storyteller to see how his neighborhood alliance is building community…with a block party!
This Sunday, our Neighborhood Storyteller reflects on the craft of…well, storytelling!
This Sunday, our Neighborhood Storyteller gets up before the crack of dawn—and reflects on the sights and the people in our communities who normally go unseen by those who work a nine-to-five.
On this Neighborhood Storyteller Sunday, Karla’s dentist—a local hero of sorts—gives her unexpected pause for reflection.
Our Neighborhood Storyteller is now coming to you on Sundays, and this week we’ve got a story about building connections with others!
This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller gets an unexpected—and delighted—visitor at her fire lookout tower.
This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller reflects on ways she stays connected—at least in spirit—with her community, even when she’s physically far away.
Another historic building that served an important function in its community gets torn down…to make way for more car storage.
This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller has set out to rejoin an old community of hers—one suspended in towers 8,000 feet above sea level.
This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller reminisces about how her community came together during a time of impending disaster.
This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller turns to friends for support during a canine emergency.
This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller shares the many blissful moments that come with biking as a means of transportation.
Of course, history has a way of repeating itself, but what’s always changing are the eyes we look through and the way our neighbors see us.
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This week, our Neighborhood Storyteller connects with people in her community while working under pressure.