Hey, Starbucks: Your Drive-Thru Doesn't Belong in My Community

Or in anyone else’s, for that matter! A strong neighborhood has businesses that keep money in the local economy, instead of siphoning money out.

Are Cars Here to Stay?

A recent article states that “real progress on climate change will require innovations that some on the left won’t like.” What’s the Strong Towns response?

The Way We Design Our Streets Invites Driver Aggression

This motorcyclist was acting aggressive…but what in his environment signaled to him that aggressive driving was acceptable?

NTSB Chair After Car Crash: “There’s a Problem With That Road Design”

The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, recently survived a car crash. And she’s not blaming it on reckless driving.

High Gas Prices Are Just One Symptom of a Much Greater Problem

When gas prices spike, the core issue we, as a nation, should be fixating on is car dependency.

Our Fragile System Runs on Cheap Oil

Every time gasoline and oil prices spike, Americans panic—but don’t do anything to change the system. This is a cycle that cannot continue.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 16, 2022podcast, fragility, cars, car dependency, transportation, upzoned Be the First to Comment

Cities, Stop Bending the Rules for Drive-Thru Businesses

Cities should not be afraid to impose design standards that meet the community’s needs and that don’t jeopardize long-term planning for the public realm.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesFebruary 23, 2022cars, car culture, urban design, business, urbanism, design, pedestrians 5 Comments

Pasadena Is Pumping the Brakes on This Mechanic’s Dreams

This small business owner is being financially crushed because the City of Pasadena is forcing him to get more parking spaces—parking that his small business doesn’t need.

Peter Norton: The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving

Technology historian Peter Norton talks about why we need to be more skeptical toward the utopian promises of self-driving cars.

The Death of a Car City

Michel Durand-Wood takes us on a hilarious walk through the stages of grief as he puts a financial spike in the heart of his beloved city’s unsustainable 2050 Master Plan.

The Hidden Inequity of Car-Based Design

For significant populations of people in the U.S., the requirement to drive is a major barrier to participating in city life.

Automated Vehicles Will Make Our Streets Worse

Automated vehicle technology will do nothing to make our streets better places to be.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 12, 2021auto-oriented, cars, technology, self driving cars 11 Comments

The Electric F-150 and the Lifestyle Truck Virus

Will switching away from internal combustion engines actually mitigate the the environmental and social costs imposed by large vehicles, like the pickup truck?

Top StoryJordan McGillisJuly 20, 2021cars, car dependency, environment, Electric Vehicles 11 Comments

Are Self-Driving Cars a Solution Looking for a Problem?

Are automated vehicles a solution looking for a problem—or perhaps the wrong solution for problems (traffic deaths, traffic congestion, etc.) that could be solved in better, easier ways?

Does Subsidizing Electric Vehicles Promote Car Dependency?

Advocates say promoting EVs is a key step toward addressing climate change. But what if it’s actually a distraction from an underlying issue: the suburban development pattern?

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 31, 2021cars, car culture, suburban development pattern, upzoned 5 Comments

The "Diverging Diamond": Greenwashing Auto Infrastructure

A proposed new “diverging diamond” interchange in Massachusetts is being sold as pedestrian-friendly. In truth, it is a profoundly pedestrian-hostile design.