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Strong Towns
@strongtowns.org
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We're changing *everything* about the North American pattern of development. Become a member today! strongtowns.org/membership
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Strong Towns @strongtowns.org · Oct 16
This is just the beginning of Stacked Against Us, our new podcast on the housing crisis. Join host Asia Mieleszko as she explores how a national gamble broke housing, and why local resilience is the only way forward.
Thumbnail for the podcast Stacked Against Us featuring houses of cards.
Reposted by Strong Towns
jimismash.bsky.social
On these platforms we hear a lot from people with strong opinions about housing, but a lot of that boils down to "I've lived in housing for most of my life, so I'm an expert." Instead, we should be listening to the people that are actually out there trying to build things:
strongtowns.org Strong Towns @strongtowns.org · 2d
Statewide zoning reform isn’t producing the wins everyone expected. For example, state law can declare that small backyard cottages are legal. But unless cities can review them, permit them, and builders can finance them, legalization will remain largely symbolic.
Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “Allowed by right does not equal possible in practice.” Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “Statewide zoning reform isn’t producing the wins everyone expected. For example, state law can declare that small backyard cottages are legal. But unless cities can review them, permit them, and builders can finance them, legalization will remain largely symbolic. The permissions may have changed, but the reflexes never adapted.”
December 5, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
hpechan.bsky.social
Great thread on the importance of aligning reform with reality.
strongtowns.org Strong Towns @strongtowns.org · 2d
Statewide zoning reform isn’t producing the wins everyone expected. For example, state law can declare that small backyard cottages are legal. But unless cities can review them, permit them, and builders can finance them, legalization will remain largely symbolic.
Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “Allowed by right does not equal possible in practice.” Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “Statewide zoning reform isn’t producing the wins everyone expected. For example, state law can declare that small backyard cottages are legal. But unless cities can review them, permit them, and builders can finance them, legalization will remain largely symbolic. The permissions may have changed, but the reflexes never adapted.”
December 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM
strongtowns.org
Statewide zoning reform isn’t producing the wins everyone expected. For example, state law can declare that small backyard cottages are legal. But unless cities can review them, permit them, and builders can finance them, legalization will remain largely symbolic.
Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “Allowed by right does not equal possible in practice.” Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “Statewide zoning reform isn’t producing the wins everyone expected. For example, state law can declare that small backyard cottages are legal. But unless cities can review them, permit them, and builders can finance them, legalization will remain largely symbolic. The permissions may have changed, but the reflexes never adapted.”
December 4, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
brenttravels.bsky.social
One of the developers on this project presented in Kansas City recently and was really impressive. Some cool work happening in Fayetteville.
December 4, 2025 at 12:01 AM
strongtowns.org
Fayetteville’s new housing program is a great example that illustrates recommendations in our Housing-Ready City toolkits.

The program gets permits out quickly, reducing confusion and friction that prevents housing from being built.
Graphic with text: “Housing News: Fayetteville, AK launched a new housing program that gives residents a clearer, faster path to building homes” Graphic with text: “With a catalog of nearly 30 permit-ready plans, the program reduces uncertainty, speeds up permitting, and lowers costs.” Examples of pre-approved plans are also shown in the background.
December 3, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
activetowns.bsky.social
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Pls tune in today, Wed, Dec 3rd, at 2 pm EST for my chat with @healthtepi.bsky.social from Perth, Australia, about the institutional subsidization of motonormativity that directly contributes to epidemic levels of physical inactivity.
youtu.be/ZGIatCdRQVY
EPISODE 319 DR. TEPI MCLAUGHLIN: It's No Accident Why We're Inactive
YouTube video by Active Towns
youtu.be
December 3, 2025 at 3:51 PM
strongtowns.org
As Charles Marohn wrote just last week: We’re living through our own Gutenberg moment now. And the real lesson is that “the technology didn’t destroy the system; it revealed its rot and accelerated the change that was already underway.”
December 2, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
mmarginet.bsky.social
Lots of news around the injuries and deaths of vulnerable road users in #Winnipeg.

Sharing the recording of Transportation For A Strong Town in Winnipeg a few years ago. We have so much work to do.

youtu.be/Hq00oq4ygyM?...

#wpgpoli #mbpoli #cdnpoli @strongtowns.org
Transportation for a Strong Town: Charles Marohn in Winnipeg
YouTube video by GreenActionCentre
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
tinybeaches.bsky.social
Put this to the top of your “listen-next” list… 🤩

Diane Alisa is a rising star with her new book: “Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village”

#Strongtown
@clmarohn.bsky.social @strongtowns.org
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...
Has the
Podcast Episode · The Strong Towns Podcast · 2025-11-24 · 59m
podcasts.apple.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
sightline.org
On Friday, join @parkingreform.org and @strongtowns.org in the #BlackFridayParking tradition of documenting vacant spots on the biggest shopping day of the year.

If there's even unused parking when demand is at its peak, why are we saddling our cities with all this asphalt 365 days a year?
parkingreform.org Parking Reform Network @parkingreform.org · Nov 29
Ross at the Grove on Black Friday - one of the densest neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

#BlackFridayParking
November 26, 2025 at 8:33 PM
strongtowns.org
The Complete Streets movement began with a compelling, people-first vision: streets designed to be safe, accessible, and welcoming to everyone, not just cars.

But as this vision was absorbed into the federal transportation bureaucracy, it became a hollowed-out shell.
Text reads: “The Complete Streets movement began with a compelling people-first vision: streets designed to be safe, accessible, and welcoming to everyone. But as this vision was absorbed into the federal transportation bureaucracy, it became a hollowed-out shell of its former self.”
November 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
“To do the experiment, I have to live in it.”

That’s what Monte Anderson told The New York Times when his work refitting his home into a multigenerational “roommate house” was spotlighted.
Screenshot collage of Monte Anderson and Asia Mieleszko. Text reads: “It’s personal. Whenever I build something, I try to build it for someone I love.” Screenshot of the New York Times article “Would the Housing Crisis Ease if Boomers Rented Out Their Empty Rooms?”
November 25, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
At least 15 times in the past 5 years, someone walking or riding a scooter or bicycle has been struck by a moving vehicle in Leawood, Kansas. Many of those struck were children.

The parents intuitively recognize that street design is a contributing factor. And it’s time to act.
Text reads: “Leawood is one of the safest, most desirable suburbs in the Kansas City Metro Area. And yet, people keep dying on its streets. At least 15 times in the past 5 years, someone has been struck by a moving vehicle in Leawood, many of them children.” Text reads: “The parents intuitively recognize what the Crash Analysis Studio makes explicit: street design is a contributing factor. And furthermore, it’s time to act, not just plan for the future.” Screenshots from the article “Leawood parents push for safer streets after 10-year-old boy’s death” with quotations highlighted are also shown.
November 24, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
brenttoderian.bsky.social
WATCH: If you really STILL don’t understand how car-dependent suburbia is HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED by downtown & all the urban parts of your city, please watch this EXCELLENT video by #NotJustBikes helped by #UrbanThree & @StrongTowns.org. And then please SHARE it as much as possible. youtu.be/7Nw6qyyrTeI
Series of graphics showing the high tax generation in urban parts of cities, and the negative tax generation relative to service costs in low density parts of cities. Series of graphics showing the high tax generation in urban parts of cities, and the negative tax generation relative to service costs in low density parts of cities. Series of graphics showing the high tax generation in urban parts of cities, and the negative tax generation relative to service costs in low density parts of cities. Series of graphics showing the high tax generation in urban parts of cities, and the negative tax generation relative to service costs in low density parts of cities.
November 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
leeday22.bsky.social
Maine communities keeping streets safe for students near schools @strongtowns.org
Maine Advocates Take a Step Toward Safer Streets Near a School | Strong Towns
Walking to school shouldn't be a death-defying stunt. That's why advocates in Maine are working with city leaders to make their streets safer.
www.strongtowns.org
November 24, 2025 at 2:38 PM
strongtowns.org
Walking to school shouldn’t be a death defying stunt. That’s why Strong Towns Hallowell, a group of advocates in the historic Maine city of less than 3,000 people, is working with the city to make it safe. If it’s safe for children, it’s safe for everyone.
Google Streetview of the intersection of Central and Hillcrest Streets in Hallowell, Maine. Text says: “Walking to school shouldn’t be a death defying stunt. This intersection in Hallowell, Maine is a well-known hazard in the community.” Google Streetview of the intersection of Central and Hillcrest Streets in Hallowell, Maine. Text says: “Cars speed up this blind hill.” In small font are the words “What’s on the other side? Who knows!” Google Streetview of the intersection of Central and Hillcrest Streets in Hallowell, Maine. Text says: And a lack of sidewalks makes this especially dangerous for people on foot.” Screenshot of an article titled “Hallowell group gets grant for traffic calming at intersection” by Ethan Horton.
November 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
strongtowns.org
New corporate landlords target declining markets in the Rust Belt and Midwest, confident they can profit despite local economic conditions.

How did we get here? And if corporate landlords strip communities of local control and regulation gets outsmarted, how can cities actually fight back?
Screenshot of the Apple Podcasts transcript of Stacked Against Us. These words are highlighted: Okay, okay, I have to catch you up to speed here. Screenshot of the Apple Podcasts transcript of Stacked Against Us. These words are highlighted: They own 24,000 homes. Screenshot of the Apple Podcasts transcript of Stacked Against Us. These words are highlighted: Why do their investors believe buying crumbling homes in struggling cities is a winning strategy? Why the confidence that the millions they’ve poured in will come back with interest? Screenshot of the Apple Podcasts transcript of Stacked Against Us. These words are highlighted: Well, we answered that in the last episode, didn’t we? It’s all those post-2008 incentives, like a zero interest rate policy and quantitative easing, right? Yes, but there’s more to it.
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 PM
strongtowns.org
McGilchrist Street in Salem, Oregon is not a critical corridor of commerce. It is a low-intensity, low-value industrial street.

So why is it getting $28.4 million in funding for an “improvement” project?
A streetview image of McGilchrist St in Salem, OR. Text reads “This is not a critical corridor of commerce or a growth hotspot. So why is Salem is investing $15.2 million of local funds into an “improvement” project?” Text reads: “In 2022, the city of Salem, Oregon, received a $13.2 million grant from the federal RAISE program — short for Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity — to fund what was officially labeled the ‘McGilchrist Street Improvement Project.’ The project’s total cost was estimated at $28.4 million, with Salem contributing the remaining $15.2 million in local funds.”
November 19, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
Last week, the Trump administration announced support for a 50-year mortgage.

Except, this won't make housing more attainable, more affordable, more stable.
A graphic with a key highlighted in light blue. Text reads: “Last week, the Trump administration announced support for a 50-year mortgage. If you care about housing affordability, here's why this doesn't help.” A graphic with a key highlighted in light blue. Text reads: “Stretching a mortgage from 20 to 30 to 40…to 50 years…doesn’t make a home cheaper. It makes an expensive home look temporarily more attainable. But really, we're just stretching debt.”
November 18, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
dixonij.bsky.social
Everything about the "Chester riverfront redevelopment plan" that had the Union's PPL (now Subaru) Park at the center of it was doomed to fail.

The ramps drop you RIGHT at the parking lots and you have zero incentive to go outside the lots before games or stay in the area after the final whistle.
strongtowns.org Strong Towns @strongtowns.org · 19d
This project highlights a broken infrastructure funding system:

In the 2000s, Chester, PA officials pitched a revitalization plan centered around a waterfront soccer stadium, speculative development, and two new highway ramps to improve access from I-95.
Photo of the 1-95 ramps in Chester, Pennsylvania. The $77 million “award winning” ramps are circled. An arrow points to another access point half a mile away. This is meant to show how little, if anything, was gained by this project.
November 18, 2025 at 12:29 AM
strongtowns.org
This project highlights a broken infrastructure funding system:

In the 2000s, Chester, PA officials pitched a revitalization plan centered around a waterfront soccer stadium, speculative development, and two new highway ramps to improve access from I-95.
Photo of the 1-95 ramps in Chester, Pennsylvania. The $77 million “award winning” ramps are circled. An arrow points to another access point half a mile away. This is meant to show how little, if anything, was gained by this project.
November 17, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
sethgrimes.bsky.social
This year's World Day of Remembrance and Ride for Your Life were inspiring and uplifting. #WDOR2025 @waba.org @safestreetsdc.bsky.social @strongtowns.org
November 16, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Strong Towns
housingfwdco.bsky.social
New from @strongtowns.org: Small, precise zoning code text revisions that can unlock big opportunities for communities facing housing shortages. www.strongtowns.org/journal/2025...
How Small Zoning Code Changes Can Unlock Big Opportunity | Strong Towns
Small, precise zoning code text revisions can be a game-changer for communities facing housing shortages.
www.strongtowns.org
November 15, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Reposted by Strong Towns
sdbikeist.bsky.social
Highways/Freeways are good for connecting far flung places to each other. Running them through cities/neighborhoods was one of the worst ideas of the 20th century -
November 14, 2025 at 11:52 PM
strongtowns.org
We built highways to connect our towns.

But then we never stopped building them, even when the interstate highway system was finished.

This is because we fundamentally misunderstand crucial facts about highways:
November 14, 2025 at 11:48 PM