We're changing *everything* about the North American pattern of development. You can help make it happen by becoming a member today!
All Across America
Joined October 2009
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Strong Towns retweeted
Among the lowest-income households, those with cars spend 40% of their income on transportation, compared with just 7% for households without cars. @SmartTransp
ssti.us/2026/10/26/when-driv…
Strong Towns retweeted
For me, the crux of this is the correctly cited need for “trust in local government’s capacity.” Without strong and effective local governments, any pro-housing agenda will fall apart.
Strong Towns retweeted
It’s crazy that this is even a thing that needs to be fixed.
Welcome to the movement!
We’re proud to become a part of the @strongtowns organization. Go visit our new website, and join the movement!
Strong Towns retweeted
Massachusetts’ average minimum residential lot size prescribed by local zoning is 26,823sf, nearly 3x the U.S. median lot size requirement.
We’ve made it illegal to build the smaller homes that once made homeownership widely attainable for Massachusetts’ middle class.
🤖 Made with AI
Strong Towns retweeted
This is why any affordability agenda must be anti-sprawl.
I think a lot of people who live in sprawl suburban "cities" like Phoenix don't understand the place that they live.
This gonna be a theme in American sprawl suburbs for the rest of this century, IMO.
Find your city, find yourself a city to live in. washingtonpost.com/nation/20…
Strong Towns retweeted
DOING THE MATH AS A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER
Steven Zittergruen is a city councilor and @StrongTowns member from Iowa. In this Bottom-Up Short, he joins Norm to discuss the ways he’s making his community stronger.
Does your city councilor understand the math?
#electionsmatter
archive.strongtowns.org/jour…
Local governments must have the ability to shape growth and grow strong. Preemption can be justified to help them get “unstuck” but this kind of bulldozing over local leaders and the people they represent is wrong.
Cities must be allowed to grow and change. This is terrible policy. It prioritizes parking spots over homes, makes the same tired excuses about utilities, and bans building new housing that local leaders want.
Over the past few months, endless Albertans have told us the same story.
They saved for years to buy a single family home on a quiet street. They picked that neighbourhood on purpose, because of the park at the end of the block or the school two streets over or the neighbours who watch out for each other.
Then one morning the house next door came down, with no notice, and later a 16 unit complex went up in its place, with nowhere for anyone to park and no consideration for the neighbourhood.
Those are not complaints. They are people describing the place they built a life in with their family.
So today we are acting. Edmonton will return to the density and height rules that were in place before 2024 and common sense minimum parking requirements, utility and water infrastructure considerations are coming back. Calgary will hold the line it set when it repealed blanket rezoning. Both cities will take a hard look at their bylaws and come back with something more balanced.
Alberta needs more homes. We are building more of them than almost anywhere in Canada. But a home is more than a house, and a neighbourhood is more than a supply of lots.
Strong Towns retweeted
"By eliminating our parking minimums, we would free up space for more housing units, open space, and other community-desired uses, which are essential to making sure Chelsea is a vibrant and affordable place to live."
- @ChelseaGov_MA City Manager Fidel Maltez
Strong Towns retweeted
And as far as growing our budget, we aren't going to do that by filling the rest of Duval County with single-family houses, but by redeveloping and densifying downtown and the urban core. See the "Growth Ponzi Scheme" from @StrongTowns
Strong Towns retweeted
Thanks @aaron_renn for featuring @clmarohn and @StrongTowns - an essentially conservative approach that I hope will gain traction with your audience - The Growth Ponzi Scheme | Charles Marohn youtu.be/ZEIFYJRkicY?si=dk5a… via @YouTube
Strong Towns retweeted
This week I finally get Charles Marohn (@clmarohn) on the podcast to talk about the Strong Towns movement. aaronrenn.com/p/the-growth-p…
Strong Towns retweeted
North Carolina politicians are now acknowledging that suburban sprawl is NOT a fiscally sustainable model.
Our friends at @strongtowns tell elected officials to use "tax value per acre" as a metric for fiscal sustainability. That's how we, as citizens, receive quality services at a reasonable cost.
Does your city councilor understand the math?
#electionsmatter
Strong Towns retweeted
Bigger may be better for safety for some things (drainage culverts, structural beams), but
1) With Traffic, bigger means faster and more dangerous;
2) With Parking, bigger means more parking and wasted economic opportunity or low viability.
Understanding how state policies may affect housing production is key to having a thoughtful conversation about which policies to pursue.
Great bottom-up approach here: build different tools, be transparent about the assumptions and uncertainty, and see what we can learn.
Registration is open for the Housing Technology Innovation Challenge, hosted by @TurnoutRocks with support from @Arnold_Ventures.
Participants will develop of a tool that can simulate the impact of different policy reforms on housing production at the state level. The best tool will be easy-to-use, clear on assumptions, communicate areas of uncertainty, and be feasible to replicate and scale across states.
To learn more, check out housingchallenge.turnout.roc…. Share with your networks! Come build something cool with the potential to shape housing policy!
Strong Towns retweeted
If you want to learn more about the challenge, check out the latest episode of Upzoned: podbean.com/ep/pb-pbdns-1b71…
Strong Towns retweeted
One year ago today, my City eliminated minimum parking requirements for multifamily housing.
One year later: the sky didn’t fall. Most projects still include parking. But some infill housing is finally moving forward where parking mandates once made it infeasible.
📍Salem, MA
Strong Towns retweeted
This November 7th with @StrongTowns! What happens when communities make room for growth? Join us November 7 for a workshop on how thoughtful growth can strengthen local economies, expand opportunity, and help build strong, lasting communities.
buff.ly/f8vA3ND
Strong Towns retweeted
“People accuse us of wanting people to live in undignified housing, but they just struggle to understand that it can be a perfectly fine option for many people at different points in their life.”
vox.com/the-highlight/502859…
Cities spent decades banning cheap rooms for rent. Now a possible Supreme Court case and 'Golden Girls' bills are trying to bring them back.
I wrote about who's behind the push, from conservative legal orgs to progressive YIMBYs and the @AARP.
