History Teacher Steps Up and Starts the Conversation for Change in Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, IL. (Source: Wikimedia Commons.)
Most of us grow up taking for granted the spread-out, car-centric pattern of development that has been the default in North America for the better part of a century. Noah Tang, too, grew up surrounded by what Strong Towns has called the Suburban Experiment; he recalls having to drive past four high schools to get to his high school across town in a Chicago suburb. This spread-out way of living was normal to him, and for most of his life, he didn’t question it.
When Tang moved to Illinois State University he experienced what a human-centered environment could be like, where people engaged spontaneously while walking to class or discovered an interesting community event from a bulletin board. As his roots grew within that smaller-scaled, interactive space, he knew something was wrong with how we choose to build our cities. Tang says that later discovering Strong Towns reaffirmed this intuition for him: Not only do we build places that make human connection harder, but the prevailing model of development also makes our towns financially fragile and insolvent.
Tang, who works as a local high school history teacher, asked a few like-minded friends to join him in his living room for a discussion. From there, the Local Conversation group Bloomington Revivalists was born as they tried to figure out how to make their town stronger. They opted to begin by focusing on making incremental housing possible. One of the group's first action items was to approach the city council with a request to change the city code so residents could build additional housing units on residential properties (specifically, accessory dwelling units, or ADUs). It was passed unanimously, and now locals have the ability to build an external housing unit for other family members.
“The way that we've built things in past years is not set in stone,” said Tang. “And it certainly can be reversed.”
The new code isn’t perfect, though, as homeowners run into complications if they want to actually rent out an ADU, versus just having a family member live in the extra housing space. But that may soon change, as Tang’s region of Bloomington-Normal is currently suffering from housing shortages. About 4,000 new employees have entered the city because of a hiring surge from a new electric car manufacturing plant and other employers, but many of them have had to stay in hotels or rent rooms from locals, because there’s simply no apartments or houses available.
The city wants to solve this problem, and to do that they’re supporting the construction of large subdivisions; but the Bloomington Revivalists insist there is a better way to solve this sudden housing crisis that doesn’t create the liability of building more roads, parking lots, and other infrastructure with high maintenance costs. Bloomington-Normal should focus on developing what they already have, and make it easier for locals to develop rental spaces on their property, and reconsider the use of their empty lots (and parking lots) scattered throughout town.
Tang recently appeared on a local radio program speaking about the region’s housing issues and the value of incremental development in established neighborhoods.
He talked of how when buildings are built spread out, the city becomes liable for upkeeping maintenance on structures like roads and sewer pipes. The city would enjoy greater financial stability if it focused on expanding the buildings they already have, or building on empty lots, or just making it easier for homeowners to rent out ADUs.
Bloomington-Normal is listening to these Strong Towns ideas, and Tang and the Bloomington Revivalists are continuing to make bottom-up changes within their community.
“Honestly, I feel like we can actually do some things,” said Tang on how the Bloomington Revivalists are becoming more known within the community. “Whereas before, well, if I make a complaint maybe something will happen. But I feel more confident to reach out to city council members, more confident about the processes of these things, and more confident about just understanding the issues and connecting with people about these topics. So, I know for a fact that we'll continue to grow and continue to do things and I'm always super excited for that type of stuff.”
Interested in hearing a Local Conversation leader on the radio? Check it out here.
Across the U.S. and Canada, Strong Towns advocates (just like Tang and his group) are gathering right now to put the Strong Towns approach to work where they live. You can do the same, and all it takes is starting a Local Conversation with a friend.
Seairra Jones serves as the Lead Story Producer for Strong Towns. In the past, she's worked as a freelance journalist and videographer for a number of different organizations. She currently resides between small-town Illinois and the rural Midwest with her husband, where they help manage a family homestead. When Seairra isn’t focusing on how to make our towns stronger, you can find her outside working on the farm, writing fictional tales in a coffee shop, or reading in a hammock.