Who is actually going to do the work of incremental development, and what will their motivations be?
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For most small-scale developers, capital is a significant barrier to doing small infill projects. But that isn't because the money isn't there to be had.
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A cohort of small developers representing over 100 properties in poor, disinvested neighborhoods are, together, the largest developer in South Bend, IN. Can their success be replicated?
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We need people who will build in the places where big, corporate developers won’t. But how do we get enough small-scale developers back to make a difference?
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A Studebaker factory once brought jobs to South Bend, IN, but what’s happened to the city (and its infrastructure) now that the factory has closed its doors?
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De’Amon Harges uses deep listening and asset-based community development to strengthen neighborhoods and cities.
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The new infrastructure bill will have big goals. But big new road projects won’t actually help us meet those goals.
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Cast your vote! Who should advance to Round 2 in the sixth annual Strongest Town Contest?!
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We were encouraged by what Pete Buttigieg was able to do as mayor of South Bend: slowing the cars, revitalizing downtown, and more. What can we hope for as Mayor Pete heads to the federal D.O.T.?
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What happens when you open your eyes to the stories around you? How does that change the way you see your community?
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The real story of the Rust Belt is not simply one of deindustrialization or decline. To miss that is to also to miss the way forward to greater strength and resilience.
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A challenge like coronavirus demands interventions that are quick, tangible, measurable, and scalable. Tactical urbanism can guide the way.
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The most exciting advances in public transit in North America are coming from some unexpected places, where they’re figuring out how to achieve more with less. Indianapolis might be the newest to join that club.
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Many cities think they need to grow to get strong. But adding thousands of additional acres to the city and millions of dollars in infrastructure is usually the last thing a city needs. It’s like trying to lose weight by consuming more pizza and beer.
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Those two things are all you should need to be able to make sense of your city's zoning code. At least that's the philosophy guiding South Bend, IN planners as they overhaul the city's regulations to be more legible and useful.
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We’ve all heard it: Americans today are incapable of civil conversation. But for decades one urban neighborhood has been confounding expectations. For them, conversation has not only proven possible, it’s become the foundation for building a stronger, more resilient and better connected neighborhood.
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An odd-bedfellows coalition of businesses, faith-based poverty advocates, and an idiosyncratic right-wing mayor, helped expand transit in one of the most auto-centric cities in the country. Here’s how.
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Planting a tree, fixing a sidewalk or a street light, painting a crosswalk: these are some of the highest-returning investments we can make today. So why aren’t our cities oriented toward them? Two very different conversations featuring Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn explore this question.
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Scott Ford, former Director of Community Investment for South Bend, Indiana, knows a thing or two about how to turn around a declining place’s fortunes. He shares some key insights with us.
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Being a small business owner, especially in a smaller town, can give you an up front look at how local government works… and at what’s not working as well as it should. Here’s an interview with one strong citizen who’s hoping to take what he’s learned to City Hall.
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