Advocates must adjust the way they talk about city planning. Overuse of jargon and a strict focus on logical debate alienates people, but focusing on the concrete benefits of better urban design — or, even better, showing those benefits — can make change more appealing.
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What is a city, anyway? Many problems in the urbanism realm boil down to people having different ideas of what a city is and what purpose it has. To be an effective advocate, make sure you and the people you’re talking to are on the same page.
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Many cities in the United States are experiencing a housing crisis, with pressure growing for someone to find a solution. But is an official solution even possible? With dysfunctional institutions and a divided culture, the “solution” might come down to individuals doing what they can in the moment.
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Strong Towns is going on a two-week break from publication soon for the winter holidays. So, where can you go to get great content while we’re away? Emma Durand-Wood has you covered.
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A site in Asheville, NC, is subject to a new development proposal to build multi-family housing—and in today’s housing market, that should be a good thing. But is this development contributing to a larger problem?
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A new survey asks: “If you were moving to a new home, would you be willing to spend more to live in a community where you could easily walk to parks, shops, and restaurants?” Here’s how people responded.
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Earlier this year, a man was killed in a car crash while crossing the street in Amarillo, TX. The driver didn’t see him—and when you look at his surroundings, it’s not hard to understand why.
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Designing urban spaces for people starts by taking seriously our need for delight and comfort.
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How much valuable land is your community wasting on Non-Places? (Hint: It may be a lot more than you think!)
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If there has ever been a good time to change our development pattern, the time is now.
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Why local entrepreneurs should reject bad state-level codes and demand local ownership of roads.
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The winds are shifting for cities. Are you paying attention?
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Building to the street can create urban form and character, and increase the productivity of a site—even a site like this airport hotel.
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A recent report from Smart Growth America highlights the extent to which zoning laws (in a staggering percentage of U.S. communities) stifle our ability to create walkable, human-centered places.
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If you value the end state of a walkable, diverse, dynamic place with a lot of local character, then you must also value the process that gets you there.
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We often speak to the “good old days” as a measure of the U.S. at its best…but in 1950, the average American home was 983 square feet, as opposed to the 2,300 square feet of today.
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We’ve explored the outside of Fairfax County’s Eden Center before, but what does the inside of this surprisingly fine-grained strip mall look like?
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Aldo Leopold was an ecologist, not an urban planner, but insights from his Sand County Almanac can resonate with anyone interested in urbanism.
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A visit to a home restaurant in Rovinj, Croatia, shows the kind of small businesses and good urbanism that we could have in the U.S. if we just relaxed our zoning codes.
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A simple laundromat offers an unexpected reminder of the role urban design has to play in making us feel more connected with the people around us.
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