Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup
Posing together on Brainerd’s main street.
Last week, the Strong Towns staff gathered in Brainerd, Minnesota, for our first retreat in nearly a year and a half—and for some of our more recent hires, this was the first meeting ever! It was exciting to have everyone back together again, and to finally become acquainted with our new team members face to face. We work remotely here at Strong Towns, so we really appreciate the few opportunities we get to see each other in person.
Other than exploring Brainerd (with Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn acting as our local guide), we spent a lot of time discussing new strategies for how to better support our members and grow this movement. We're looking forward to implementing the ideas we came up with to help advocates like you make your places stronger.
Parting with the team was hard, but now that we're back in our respective homes, it's time to return to the work that we love. So, without further ado, let's share some Friday Faves.
Here’s what Strong Towns staff were up to this week:
Rachel: This sweet story about making friends with neighbors during the pandemic left me smiling. The simple act of sharing food with others is such a powerful way to connect. I know my own neighbors played a special role in my life over the last pandemic year, and sharing food, stories, and a helping hand was a big part of that. I hope we can all keep this neighborly kindness going in the months and years to come.
An underground qanat in Yazd, Iran. Image via Flickr.
Shina: July 4th is not only an important holiday in America, it's the date of an old Iranian holiday, as well (at least this year; the Solar Hijri calendar doesn't always align perfectly with the Gregorian calendar). So, for me and my non-Iranian boyfriend, that means we're having a dual celebration: barbeque for the 4th of July, and a friendly water balloon fight for Tirgan. Why water balloons? Because Tirgan is partly about celebrating water and rainfall, both of which were vital for cities of the past to survive, especially in arid regions of the world.
Reflecting on this history has got me thinking about qanats, the 3,000-year-old irrigation system that was an integral part of town-building in much of Iran and other parts of the Middle East. This video shows some good footage of qanats and talks about their cultural importance to places where water could not otherwise be accessed. I grew up on stories of how, even in my father's lifetime and even in major cities like Tehran, these sophisticated water distribution systems still serviced peoples' households. I had the chance to go down into a qanat several years ago myself, and to see this infrastructure that had, for millennia, been so carefully maintained and cherished was a humbling experience.
Chuck: As America’s federal politicians are supporting or opposing a so-called bipartisan consensus on infrastructure spending, the Welsh government is doing the unthinkable: suspending all future road building plans. In other words, they are going full Strong Towns and #NoNewRoads, something considered impossible here even by those who have huge concerns over climate change, as well as those who have huge concerns over the budget.
Ta Prohm temple, Cambodia. Image via Unsplash.
Daniel: I want to read a whole book on the subject of this Guardian article on pre-modern cities in tropical forest environments, such as those of the ancient Maya in Central America or the Khmer in Cambodia. The popular conception of these civilizations is focused on their iconic, monumental ruins, but amid the fascination with such sites, scholars have long overlooked how complex, expansive, and exquisitely adapted to their environments these settlements really were.
Lauren: We all know from personal experience that despite state licensing processes—some rigorous, some not so much—plenty of drivers hit the road every day who pose a threat to others. This story from VICE explores whether these processes really do much good, or even make a difference in road safety at all. If the thought of a bunch of unvetted drivers getting behind the wheel makes you uncomfortable, Strong Towns has a rich library of other approaches for making our transportation system safer.
Linda: I recently discovered Stereogum, the self-described “world’s best music blog,” and fell down a deep rabbit hole exploring Senior Editor Tom Breihan’s column The Number Ones. “In The Number Ones,” says Breihan “I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present.”
For each entry, Breihan links to and describes the song (and music video for the post-MTV era), provides some historical and pop cultural background, and offers his (often blistering, always entertaining) critique. He posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and is currently up to early 1989.
I’ll date myself by sayin I can’t complain about the #1 single the week I was born: Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack.” Breihan begins this review with “Certain songs feel like they’ve always existed, to the point where it’s strange to imagine them as being new, as being songs that people would hear on the radio for the first time. ‘Hit The Road Jack’ is one of those. As we experience it today, it’s less a song, more of an all-purpose signifier of the idea that someone should get out. It’s what plays over the PA at the hockey arena when someone gets sent to the penalty box. But of course, before all that, it was a pop single.”
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Finally, from all of us, a warm welcome to the newest members of the Strong Towns movement: Lauren Lyon, Mr. & Mrs. John R. Adams, Francis Chiefe, Enzo Lundy, Luke Stibbs, Diana Floyd, Victor San Vicente, Noah Torsiello, Erin Russ, Lukas Epps-Dawson, Tom and Anne Mundahl, Pamela Goode, and Evan Rainey.
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What stories got you thinking this week? Please share them in the comments!