Top 5 Recent Stories (July 1–July 12, 2019)

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1. My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate (Parts 1 through 4)

by Charles Marohn | July 1 through 9, 2019

I used to believe that the dominant development pattern I saw around me was a reflection of the free market at work; we built our cities the way we did because that was what people wanted, and as an engineer, I was doing good by helping to fulfill those preferences. It took being brought face-to-face with the insolvency of the system I was part of to being to question this dogma.

2. Making Normal Neighborhoods Legal Again

by Daniel Herriges | July 3, 2019

The growing movement to end exclusive single-family zoning—as Oregon just did in its cities—is not a radical or untested experiment: it’s a return to a historical norm. The actual radical experiment is the strange notion that a neighborhood should be required to contain only one type of home.

3. Why Are U.S. Drivers Killing So Many Pedestrians?

by Joe Cortright | July 2, 2019

U.S. drivers are killing 50 percent more pedestrians than a mere decade ago; meanwhile, European drivers are killing a third fewer. Why?

4. How I Learned That an Urban Lifestyle Does Not Imply Living in a Huge City

by Robert Sulaski | July 9, 2019

During a semester in Spain, I realized that an urban, walkable place need not imply high rise buildings, crazy traffic and overcrowded streets. Traditional development offers the convenience and productivity of urban living at a small-town pace.

5. How Public Art can Boost the Pride (and Resilience) of Your Neighborhood

It’s the Little Things Podcast | Jacob Moses & Greta McLain | July 10, 2019

Greta McLain—Artistic Director at GoodSpace Murals, a Minneapolis-based organization that promotes community development through public art—shares how you can use public art to build community in your own city or town, including how to create a tribe of public art advocates in your community, and how to turn stakeholders leery of public art into advocates.

(Cover photo via GoodSpace Murals)