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

Hey everyone, we’re ending the year by featuring some of our staff members’ favorite Strong Towns articles and podcasts from 2021. Rachel Quednau and John Pattison have already shared theirs, and tomorrow you’ll hear from Daniel Herriges. In the meantime, I’m excited and humbled to share my top picks with you today.

(Source: Unsplash.)

1. “Delight per Acre,” by Daniel Herriges

This is one of those pieces that blew me away, not because it introduced me to something I didn’t know, but rather because I believe it taps into something that most of us do intuitively know, but aren’t sure how to put into words. In this article, Daniel Herriges outlines why we should maximize “delight per acre” in our urban spaces, using principles borrowed from Japanese gardening to reveal how we can make our places both more beautiful and sustainable. I think just about anyone can look at the photos Daniel shares of “delightful” spaces around the world, and recognize their appeal. But being able to effectively explain why they are so appealing is a powerful tool for those of us who are motivated by the aesthetics (or, as Daniel puts it, the “romance”) of cities. Check it out here to get delighted!

2. “Miyazaki's Urbanism,” by Matthew Robare

Speaking of delight, this piece by Matthew Robare unveils a secret that world-renown director Hayao Miyazaki has been “hiding in plain sight for years: He’s one of the best urban designers and thinkers of our time.” The cities that Miyazaki creates in his animations feel not only real, but breathtakingly beautiful. This article is a real nostalgia trip for those who grew up with Studio Ghibli films, and it’s also a wonderful demonstration of why we love places that are friendlier to people than they are to cars. Read it here to learn why life should sometimes imitate art a little more.

(Source: Wikipedia.)

3. “Cognitive Comfort and Visual Clutter: Is it Time we Started Regulating Style?” by Dustin Shane

You may have begun to pick up on a theme here: Most (alright, I confess, all except one) of my top picks have something to do with aesthetics and design. Hear me out on this one, though, because it’s also about human psychology. This piece by Dustin Shane is a follow-up to an episode of the Strong Towns Podcast featuring Ann Sussman and Justin Hollander, who have co-authored multiple books that look at architecture through the lens of human biology and neuroscience. I do recommend listening to that episode, too.

What draws me to Shane’s take on it, though, is his theory that humans favor detail in architecture because of how it imitates the detail in forests. The idea that ornamentation in our surroundings might make us happy because it speaks to something deep in our ancestry is, to me, extremely moving. Read about it here to get a better appreciation for why beauty matters in our environments.

4. “Engineers Should Not Design Streets: A Programmer's Take,” by Andrew Price

I’m sure everyone who takes the deep dive into Strong Towns content has an “ah-ha” moment (or two, or three) in particular that stands out to them. As someone who, many years ago, dabbled in game design, this piece by Andrew Price was my “ah-ha” moment. But I don’t think you have to have a background in programming or digital art or design to understand Price’s analogy: Namely, that civil engineers shouldn’t design streets, just like how software engineers shouldn’t make the art for video games, or the user interfaces of programs. It’s a straightforward argument; it just makes sense. Not to mention, it’s a great, easy way to introduce newcomers to this particular element of Strong Towns thinking. Check it out here to see why our cities don’t need more “programmer art.”

(Source: Unsplash.)

5. “One Billion Bollards,” by Charles Marohn

Another one of my colleagues wanted to feature this piece, but graciously allowed me to have it. And I’m glad for it, because when I first read “billion bollards,” I couldn’t help but enjoy the alliteration of the title—only to very quickly realize there is nothing funny about this article. In no unclear terms, Chuck Marohn exposes and condemns street designs that prioritize the safety of drivers over that of the much more vulnerable people walking on sidewalks and waiting at intersections. It’s chilling to see such a lack of regard for human life laid out so plainly. As Chuck puts it, “America needs a billion bollards. There is no coherent argument against lining every street in America with them.” I’m now convinced of this. Read the article and I think you will be, too.

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That wraps up my favorite content from 2021—and believe me, it wasn’t easy to choose just five pieces! What would you have picked? Let us know what your favorite articles or podcasts were in the comments, and stay tuned to hear from Daniel tomorrow.

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