Friday Faves - Your Weekly Strong Towns Roundup
Welcome to your weekly Friday roundup. Before we get to the links, there are a couple new avenues to access Strong Towns content that we wanted to share, if you haven’t seen them already. The first is our Substack, Life in a Strong Town, where you can read about the small, day-to-day adventures and encounters that make living—really living—in your place worthwhile and beautiful. Subscribe to get that in your inbox.
The other is our Just Accounting for Health initiative (in partnership with Urban3, the University of North Carolina - Asheville and the Racial Justice Coalition of Asheville) where we’re lifting the veil on property tax inequalities in North Carolina and across the country. You can read more about that here and sign up to receive email updates here.
Now onto your weekly links…
Comment of the Week:
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Here’s what Strong Towns staff were up to this week:
(Source: Flickr.)
Chuck: Two weeks ago I was able to spend a day at Disneyland and, of course, I stood in a long line to ride Hyperspace Mountain, the Star Wars-rethemed version of the classic Space Mountain ride. It’s so amazing! There are some people who seek the big drops and high g-forces, but I like my roller coasters the Disney way—thrilling, but more emphasis on theming and experience than all-out power. In that context, Space Mountain in California has always been my favorite. Florida just doesn’t compare, and the big difference is the music. Disneyland has music within the ride vehicle and it’s synced to the experience, while the Magic Kingdom in Disneyworld has an ambient music experience that, in comparison, is a huge disappointment. For more Disney park tips, you can join the team here at Strong Towns the next time we have an open position (I am always ready to give Disney theme park tips, solicited or otherwise).
John: I was a poser as a pre-teen. I knew a couple kids who were into skateboarding, so for a few months I bought the latest issues of Thrasher magazine at the grocery store. I also pored over catalogs of decks and trucks and wheels. But I have no memory of ever actually getting on a skateboard. It turns out what I wanted wasn’t to skate but to have something in common with the other guys. Probably all for the best, because I certainly would have injured myself. I was gangly and uncoordinated, and on the verge of a major growth spurt, with feet so big I must have looked like I was walking in swimming fins. A friend of mine recently sent me this experimental short video called “One More Try.” It’s a 90-second “ode to effort” as you watch street skaters try again and again to complete a difficult maneuver. Skateboarding wasn’t for me, but I have an immense amount of respect for the people who put their bodies on the line to finally land a gnar gnar trick.
(Source: Unsplash.)
Rachel: The New York Times convened a focus group of moderates who voted for Biden and asked them a bunch of questions about current issues and what they care most about. There’s certainly a lefty lean to the article, because it’s from the Times and they’re talking only with Biden voters, but I still found a lot of useful insights. More than anything, I appreciate any attempt to listen to people with different worldviews who don’t fit the current narrow perspectives espoused by the loudest shouters on the right and left.
(Source: Unsplash.)
Lauren: The Strong Towns conversation includes those who choose to live car-dependent lives, either due to personal preference or due to limited options. That’s why I really appreciated John Hawkins’ comment on this story we ran last week, and was thankful for the brief exchange we shared. Car ownership and use doesn’t go away when we build strong towns, nor should it. And it will be no great loss to drivers when it becomes easier for us to choose not to drive.
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