The 5 Best Strong Towns Articles and Podcasts from 2021: Rachel's Picks

I’m excited to kick off this end-of-the-year series, featuring some of the Strong Towns team’s favorite content from 2021. You’ll be hearing from my colleagues John, Daniel, and Shina later this week, but I’m honored to share my picks with you today.

1. “Want to Change the Way Our World is Built? You Won't Do it by Fighting a Culture War,” by Daniel Herriges

This piece takes us back to January 2021, offering a dose of hopefulness amidst one of the darkest winters in memory. Daniel writes about the need to understand and empathize with others who live and think differently from us, rather than stereotyping them and assuming their priorities differ dramatically from ours. A family in the suburbs might appreciate the safety, quiet, and camaraderie of their neighborhood, and who could begrudge them those values? If we want to convince people to shift away from the suburban development pattern, Daniel writes, we won’t do it by mocking their lifestyle or choices. Read his essay here to get his full insight.

2. “Grace Olmstead: The Legacy—and the Future—of the Places We’ve Left Behind,” from the Strong Towns Podcast

This was my favorite Strong Towns Podcast episode of 2021, published in March. It features one of our advisory board members and the author of the book Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We’ve Left Behind. I have long admired Grace’s writing for how thoughtful she is and how in tune she is with rural communities. Her book is part memoir and part research project about small towns and farming in modern America, and asks the central question, “Should we leave our homes to seek greener pastures, or stay rooted in our places of origin, even when the going gets tough?” Chuck did a great job of teasing out those questions and letting Grace tell her story in this podcast interview. Listen to it here.

3. “Chris Frye: Shifting Perceptions About a Rust Belt City,” from The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast

If I can be permitted to share an interview from the podcast I host, it would be this conversation with Mayor Chris Frye of New Castle, Pennsylvania, recorded in April. I was struck by his candor, his background as a social worker, and his awareness that the work of revitalization is not merely about fixing up old buildings or bringing jobs back, but about changing negative perceptions of his community, both among residents of New Castle and outsiders who might want to visit or invest. Mayor Frye articulated a common thread among many of my Bottom-Up Revolution interviews this year: that strong towns have to begin with pride in and love for your place. Listen to the podcast here.

(By the way, honorable mention for favorite interviews this year on my show goes to the episode I did with my colleague Lauren about building family and community resilience.)

4. “Missing Middle and My Grandmother,” by Marlene Drucker

I adore this personal essay written by a Strong Towns member and architect, telling the story of the sort of “middle”-size housing that used to be completely commonplace and that is sadly illegal in many neighborhoods today. Marlene writes about the Montreal home her grandparents lived in for much of their lives, a small apartment building in which they owned two units, living in one and renting out the other. The building also had a modest basement unit which Marlene’s grandparents often rented out, too. When Marlene’s grandfather passed away, her grandma was eventually joined by a companion and later caretaker who lived in that basement unit. The power of modest, multifamily housing like this to enable an aging person to stay in their home, have some income, and find some companionship is something we desperately need more of. I highly recommend reading the whole essay and then visiting our Action Lab, where you can learn more about the fight for “missing middle” housing.

5. Breaking Out of the Resource Trap, an e-book by Charles Marohn

In June, we had the honor of publishing a book of essays by Charles Marohn with practical and important steps for communities that want to break free of their dependance on dominant industries. The series focused on towns in the American west that rely on commodities like lumber and coal for their economic survival, but it’s relevant for any community that finds itself dependent on a handful of companies (Walmart? Amazon?) for jobs and money. As Chuck frames it in the introduction to the series, “The measurement of success that comes up over and over again in resource-based communities is simple: Will the next generation stay or leave? Do our kids have enough of a future here to stick around and make a life, or will they leave and never come back?” If those questions resonate with you, read the full e-book for tons of insights and ideas. You can also explore individual articles in the series on this page, if you prefer that format.

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That’s a wrap on my favorite things we published in 2021! Let us know your favorites in the comments and check back tomorrow to hear from John Pattison about his top content from the year.

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