Strong Towns

To ensure the United States thrives, it is essential to cultivate robust cities, towns, and neighborhoods. True prosperity can't be imposed from outside; it must be nurtured from within, gradually over time. As America undergoes change, the emphasis should be on fostering vibrant local communities where creativity, kindness, and teamwork can thrive. We support a development approach that helps communities in America become financially stable and resilient. Currently, the focus on growth often prioritizes new infrastructure to spur or support new developments. This method tends to waste public funds, unfairly favors certain types of development, and leaves significant maintenance responsibilities for future generations. The Strong Towns approach advocates for maximizing returns on existing infrastructure investments. We can no longer overlook past commitments in favor of new projects. Instead, we should focus on making the best use of the resources we are already dedicated to maintaining.

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NYC’s Congestion Pricing Was Flawed-But Killing It Won’t Fix Traffic

1 month ago | strongtowns.org | Charles Marohn

Last week, the Trump administration rescinded federal approval for New York City’s congestion pricing program, a move that left many transportation advocates and urban advocates frustrated. After years of delays, political fights and legal challenges, the first congestion pricing system in the U.S. was just getting started — only to be abruptly shut down by a policy reversal from Washington. If you believe in congestion pricing as a tool to manage traffic (and we do), this decision is infuriating.
Rebekah Kik Is Using the Power of Local Government To Lift Barriers

1 month ago | strongtowns.org | Tiffany Owens Reed

To understand how one city leader can spearhead the housing reforms your city needs, look no further than Rebekah Kik, the deputy city manager for Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kik began to notice the “broken teeth” pattern of vacancy in Kalamazoo’s neighborhoods 10 years ago, during her daily bike rides to work. There were no bike lanes back then, so she would weave through residential streets looking for safe routes. She began to wonder why there were so many empty lots.
Traffic Deaths Are Down, But Not for the Reasons We’re Being Told

1 month ago | strongtowns.org | Charles Marohn

Last month, the city of Tampa, Florida, announced that its Vision Zero initiative was working. Fatal crashes were down 12% in 2024 compared to the previous year, and serious injury crashes had dropped by 26%. The announcement celebrated these results as proof that local safety efforts were making streets safer. Everyone wants fewer deadly crashes, and any decline in fatalities is good news. But before we declare victory, we have to ask a crucial question: Is this decline real?
Massachusetts Zoning Lawsuit: Addressing Listener Pushback

2 months ago | strongtowns.org | Charles Marohn

On a recent episode of Upzoned, I joined Abby Newsham to discuss a fascinating and controversial case out of Massachusetts: the state’s effort to sue a city over exclusionary zoning near transit stations. The case centers on Milton, a town outside of Boston, and whether local zoning decisions are undermining the state’s broader housing and transportation goals.
Can Sean Duffy’s New USDOT Transportation Order Bring Economic Growth?

2 months ago | strongtowns.org | Charles Marohn

For years, Strong Towns has called for a fundamental shift in how the federal government approaches transportation spending, particularly in how it influences our development patterns. Both major parties have, in different ways, been hesitant to implement the kind of meaningful reforms needed to create financially productive, resilient places — ones that support long-term prosperity rather than just short-term economic stimulus.
Co-Living Provides Community, Not Just Housing

2 months ago | strongtowns.org | Tiffany Owens Reed

Not even a year after tying the marital knot, Noah Tang, 28, found himself standing in a house alone, realizing that his wife was not coming back. The separation was final and the divorce would become final just a few months later. Beyond the whirlwind of emotions was the looming practical question: the mortgage. How would he pay it now that he was alone? Then an idea hit him.
A Plane Crash Gets an NTSB Investigation. A Car Crash Gets a Shrug.

2 months ago | strongtowns.org | Charles Marohn

Last Wednesday evening, an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter while preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The crash into the Potomac River claimed the lives of everyone on board, making it the deadliest air disaster in the United States in over two decades. In the hours that followed, the response was immediate and comprehensive.
America’s “Grand Housing Bargain” Is Broken. It’s Time for a New One.

2 months ago | strongtowns.org | Charles Marohn

For decades, we've been living under an unspoken grand bargain when it comes to housing. It’s an arrangement that most people don’t think about explicitly, but it shapes nearly every conversation we have about growth, change and affordability in our cities and towns. The current grand bargain is simple: No neighborhood needs to change; they can all stay in their current form, but in exchange, one or two neighborhoods will experience radical transformation.
Yards Are Not Enough: The Importance of the Public Realm

Jan 22, 2025 | strongtowns.org | Tiffany Owens Reed

Just before the recent snap of cold weather landed in Texas, I zipped my son into his sweatshirt and marched him to the car. It was time for our daily “outside time,” and I had decided that today would be a little different from our normal walk around the neighborhood. Ten minutes of driving later, we parked just beyond downtown Waco. I pulled him from his car seat, crossed two streets and walked through the entrance to the village at Magnolia Silos.
The Hidden Cost of America’s Infrastructure Spending Habits

Jan 21, 2025 | strongtowns.org | Charles Marohn

The people living here are not farmers or miners who are supporting the economy; they are, for the most part, individuals who have chosen to live in a rural setting for lifestyle reasons. They reside on lakes, hobby farms or quiet properties not out of economic necessity, but by preference. Check out the area in Google Maps for yourself.