Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup
Earlier this week we officially announced the release of our newest Academy course, “Creating Housing Opportunities in a Strong Town.” The housing crisis is a challenge so large and complex that, too often, only professionals and a few single-minded advocates dare wade in. Yet it’s precisely because the issue is so large and complex that our communities need the help of pros and non-pros alike.
In this new course, Strong Towns Senior Editor Daniel Herriges explains why local housing markets are so distorted, how to create more affordable housing options, how to address neighborhood decline, the role of zoning, gentrification and disinvestment, NIMBYism, and much more. This is an in-depth course—about 70 videos, and more than 10 hours. (It’s good for 10.5 continuing education credits.) It’s also incredibly practical: participants develop a plan for local action they can begin implementing immediately. Check out the full course curriculum here.
Here’s what Strong Towns staff were up to this week:
Image via Unsplash.
John: Research is confirming what was previously dismissed as a trick of the eyes: certain types of fireflies sync their flashes. What I find especially interesting about this is that fireflies don’t pulse instantaneously with one another, keeping time with some rhythm only they can perceive; rather, the flashes cascade lightning-fast across the swarm. According to the The New York Times, “This relay-like propagation of flashing suggests that fireflies interact with the swarm locally, taking their cues from the fireflies around them...“
This reminds me of what scientists are learning about starlings too. Perhaps you’ve seen—in person or on YouTube—flocks of starlings swooping and undulating in gorgeous and ever-shifting patterns in the sky. These are called “murmurations.” Researchers are using computers, high-definition cameras, advanced math, and systems theory to better understand how such large groups seem to share one mind. What they’re discovering is that even in a murmuration of thousands, a bird is really only able to pay attention to its seven closest neighbors. When one starling alters course, the birds immediately around it follow suit, and so the change ripples through the flock, the way the “wave” ripples through the crowd at a baseball game, albeit incredibly fast.
So in both cases—fireflies and starlings—what looks like a mass movement is actually highly local. This should inspire and instruct those of us working to grow a Strong Towns movement across North America. While it’s wonderful that Strong Towns articles and podcasts have a broad reach (2 million people last year), the real action is happening in the local and particular, in towns and cities just like yours, in neighborhoods like yours, with people just like you. I want to hear and tell more stories of what’s happening locally. Because whether we’re looking at it from the level of the block, or the continent, whew, it’s a sight to behold.
Image via Streetsblog SF.
Daniel: Some things you just can’t unsee once you’ve seen them. Like a row of heavy-duty metal bollards protecting a series of utility boxes on an Oakland sidewalk. It’s not so much the bollards that are noteworthy. It’s where we don’t put similar defenses—such as in countless places where real, live people are just as vulnerable to an errant car. And it’s what that says about the values of our transportation engineering profession as far as who or what warrants protection. (Our friend and Strong Towns contributor Addison Del Mastro recently made a similar observation in this piece about a guardrail placed on the far side of the sidewalk along a six-lane road. It serves a function, but protecting pedestrians isn’t it.)
On that note, if you’re on Twitter and you don’t already follow the World Bollard Association, I highly recommend them for all your bollard content needs.
Image via Unsplash.
Rachel: It’s summer and all I can think about is fresh veggies (well, that and the fact that we can finally see other humans again in person). This story comes from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where a garden program is providing an opportunity for residents who have little access to fresh food with the chance to learn gardening practices, start their own businesses, and connect with their culture.
The Medicine Root Gardening Program is inspiring in many ways, but one thing that stood out to me was this quote from the executive director, Rose Fraser: “In the beginning of the class, we do a lot of surveys with our students and ask them what they like to eat, because that’s where it all starts. You’re not going to plant something you’re not going to eat.” I really respect this approach because I think sometimes food and gardening programs can end up teaching people to grow stuff that most of them wouldn’t actually be interested in (kohlrabi, anyone?) and Fraser is absolutely right that the average person won’t stick with something unless it’s truly valuable. I’ve enjoyed having my own little garden this summer and I am only growing stuff I want to eat.
—
Finally, from all of us, a warm welcome to the newest members of the Strong Towns movement: Deb McGrath, John Pesackis, RJ Boyle, Besart Avdiu, Elizabeth Heywood, Justin Jones, Paul Shakeshaft, Anthony Hennegan, James Girardot, Cameron Kummer, David Perry, Steve Creekmore, Ray Phenicie, Michael Meixler, David Isaacs, and Stephen Courtney.
Your support helps us provide tools, resources, and community to people who are building strong towns across the country.
What stories got you thinking this week? Please share them in the comments!