Articles and Podcasts Are Just The Beginning
Last year, Strong Towns published 615 articles and 99 podcast episodes. And since 2010, we have produced more than 5,500 articles and about 700 podcasts. Producing great media content is, obviously, a major part of how we advance our mission of making communities across the U.S. and Canada financially strong and resilient. It’s also probably what we’re best know for. Yet there’s so much more that Strong Towns does.
Since our audience has grown so much recently (we reached more than 2 million people last year) we thought it would be helpful to introduce newcomers to the other resources Strong Towns provides. Just as important, as a member-supported organization, we wanted to remind our incredible base of financial supporters the many things they make possible.
Strong Towns Media
Each week, we publish between 10-15 articles, written both by staff and by outside contributors. We also release three weekly podcasts:
The Strong Towns Podcast: Hosted by founder and president Chuck Marohn, our flagship podcast explores how we can financially strengthen our cities, towns, and neighborhoods and, in the process, make them better places to live.
Upzoned: Each week, host Abby Kinney, an urban planner in Kansas City, and regular co-host Chuck Marohn, take one story from the news and they “upzone” it: they look at it through a Strong Towns lens. Recent episodes have tackled everything from parking requirements and electric vehicles, to Amazon.com and building people-centered cities.
The Bottom-Up Revolution: Our newest podcast. Strong Towns program director Rachel Quednau interviews people around North America who are putting the Strong Towns approach into action in their communities. Over the last several episodes, Rachel has talked with folks who launched a neighborhood composting initiative, opened a coffee shop to help combat gentrification, trained youth to build and renovate homes, and opened a neighborhood laundry co-op.
Strong Towns Academy
The Strong Towns Academy is our online course platform. Three courses are available now. Six(!) more are in the works.
Our free Strong Towns 101 course is a great way to learn the basic principles of building stronger and more prosperous places. We also have comprehensive courses available on transportation and housing, with additional topics—urban design, economic development, and more—coming soon. All courses are eligible for continuing education credits through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
The Local-Motive Tour
Earlier this year, we launched the Strong Towns Local-Motive tour. It features 10 one-hour, action-oriented sessions on topics ranging from choosing your next bike lane battle, to building a more resilient local food system, to establishing a street design team, and more. Each “tour stop” includes a presentation by a Strong Towns team member, an in-depth conversation with experienced leaders, and additional resources and action guides. Like the Strong Towns Academy, these sessions qualify for continuing education credits through AICP. The Local-Motive Tour archive can be purchased as a bundle, or you can purchase individual sessions. And, actually, anyone who becomes a member this week will get free access to the Local-Motive session of their choice!
The Action Lab
Also debuting this year, the Strong Towns Action Lab is where we keep our most actionable content and resources. It is organized around four main sections:
Connect to Resources: A directory of ebooks, checklists, how-to guides, toolkits, and web broadcasts.
Connect to Examples: A place to discover examples of people taking Strong Towns action.
Connect to People: Where you can connect with Strong Towns advocates near you and learn how to start your own Strong Towns local conversation.
Explore by Topic: Where we’ve started to organize the best of our content into collections sorted by topic and subtopic.
There’s also a Community section where you can answer questions being asked by other Strong Towns advocates, as well as ask your own.
Strong Towns Books
Fall 2019 saw the release of Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity, by Chuck Marohn. The book’s reception was wonderful (you can read some of the reviews here) and helped change the national conversation around how to build prosperous and resilient cities. This September, Chuck will release his next book, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town. In it, Chuck pulls back the curtain on the North American transportation system. He also talks about how transportation can be fixed—and why fixing it will involve not just engineers, but local residents and officials who have become effective and empowered advocates, connected with others to make real change.
Strong Towns Events
Strong Towns events are an important tool to spread the Strong Towns message, help communities see a path forward to apply our approach in their real places, and foster new connections between local leaders. We produce a gathering or two each year. Far more often, we send members of our staff to speak to communities about our ideas with the sponsorship of local organization. In 2019, we spoke at more than 60 such events. Obviously, in-person events were put on hold in 2020, though we continued to participate virtually. But we’re beginning to return to normal. Last month, Chuck Marohn traveled to Lockport, Illinois, to celebrate Lockport’s win in the 2021 Strongest Town contest. We’re also beginning to book events for the upcoming Confessions book tour.
We hope to meet you in person soon!
Strong Towns Community
A map of many of our Local Conversations.
As people take action in their own towns and cities, we want to come alongside them and do what we can to help. We also want to make sure they’re connected with other Strong Towns advocates in their area. There are a few ways in which we help. One is to help start and support Local Conversations. Local Conversations are groups of Strong Towns advocates and members who live in the same place, like a city or particular neighborhood, and meet to discuss how Strong Towns principles can make their place stronger. (You can learn more about how to start a Local Conversation here.)
We also use social media to connect people across distance. Our private Facebook group is full of smart, creative advocates like you. We’re also on Instagram and Twitter, and we have a public Facebook page.
None of these things would be possible without the generous support of our members. We’re so grateful for them. Will you become a member today and help grow the Strong Towns movement too?
Cover image via Unsplash.