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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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strongtowns.org
Cheap is not the same as affordable.

This is one of the key lessons from this year’s Christmas Cookie Inflation Index, started by Strong Towns President Charles Marohn in 2019.

Read more about this year’s CCII on our site. https://ow.ly/a38u50XWmFN
Text excerpts discuss grocery store consolidation, labor disputes, and impacts on workers after Rainbow's closure. Chart showing a 3.6% decrease in the Christmas Cookie Inflation Index for 2023, highlighting ingredient price changes over recent years. A colorful assortment of holiday cookies with a quote about the difference between cheap and affordable overlaid in bold text.
January 13, 2026 at 9:00 PM
strongtowns.org
“We keep adding lane-miles to networks we can’t afford to care for, while telling ourselves that the next project will finally deliver the returns the last one didn’t.” —Charles Marohn

Read more in “Transportation After the Age of Expansion” on our site. https://ow.ly/er9l50XUgvy
Concrete bridge structure against a blue sky with clouds, featuring text about successful transportation investment. Close-up of steel beams extending from a bridge under construction against a blue sky with clouds.
January 9, 2026 at 10:20 PM
strongtowns.org
Did you notice this housing trend shift in 2025?

Zillow’s 2025 Zeitgeist Report revealed an interesting change: people are searching less for stylistic upgrades and more for homes that can adapt to life’s changes.
Suburban neighborhood with houses and a curved walkway under a partly cloudy sky, highlighting Zillow's housing market search data. Zillow's 2025 report shows homebuyers favor adaptable homes over stylistic upgrades in search trends. A modern home with an outdoor dining area next to a pool, highlighting ADU, guest house, and in-law suite options for flexible living. Text explaining that ADUs, casitas, and similar housing types have existed for generations and are common in neighborhoods.
January 8, 2026 at 11:00 PM
strongtowns.org
When you have 20 different "national goals," many of which conflict with each other, then a project that destroys a neighborhood but saves 3.2 minutes of travel time can get the green light.

We need a return to the laser focus and careful execution that made the Interstate Highway System possible.
Map showing a proposed highway route in Shreveport, Louisiana, highlighting communities affected to save 3 minutes of travel time.
January 7, 2026 at 8:50 PM
strongtowns.org
Which kind of land use is the most financially productive: roads, parking, or buildings?

Looking at this comparison, it isn't even close.

Info courtesy of our friends at Urban3.
Comparison of land use value in Memphis showing buildings at $45.39 per sq. ft., parking at $1.35, and roads at -$0.81, urging efficient land use.
January 6, 2026 at 8:45 PM
strongtowns.org
Trends come and go, but what’s always “in” is humbly observing where your community struggles. What’s always “in” is thinking of the next smallest thing you can do to address that struggle.

Then you do it. Do it now.

And repeat.
January 5, 2026 at 9:35 PM
strongtowns.org
Jane Jacobs published The Death and Life of Great American Cities during a time when the country demolished lively neighborhoods for highways in the name of progress.
Old film stills with captions that read: “The heart of [this neighborhood] was where this road runs behind me, the Cross-Bronx Expressway. And all I could think of was that this didn’t have to be.” Stills and text from New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns, excerpted on Patell and Waterman's History of New York YouTube Channel
December 8, 2025 at 4:19 PM
strongtowns.org
We have tools and resources to help you get started with building a Housing-Ready City with a culture that nurtures local development.

Get the toolkits: buff.ly/V641Hdg

And read the full article: buff.ly/6SLVwUv
Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “We outline what it takes to build the culture in our Housing-Ready City toolkits. Get them at strongtowns.org/housingready” The covers of the toolkits are also shown. Screenshot of the article “Why State Housing Reform is Failing (and What We Can Do About It)”. Read more on strongtowns.org
December 4, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
Legalization is a good first step, but that’s it. It’s a first step. The next is actually building an ecosystem around making these changes possible.
Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “Legalization is a good first step, but that’s it. It’s a first step. The next is actually building an ecosystem around making these changes possible.”
December 4, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
There are some things that state mandates can't do, like build teach staff members, build trust between the city and builders, and form local partnerships.
Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “As Edward Erfurt notes, there are things that state mandates can’t do.” Select text in a screenshot are highlighted.
December 4, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
The smallest of projects must navigate systems designed for the largest of developments. A 600-square-foot backyard cottage must comply with the same development standards, permitting submission requirements, and timelines as a 2,500-square-foot house on a one-acre lot.
Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “Builders still couldn’t make the projects work. They could not make these work not because the idea was wrong, but because there's no broader system to support small-scale development in place. The smallest of projects must navigate systems designed for the largest of developments. A 600-square-foot backyard cottage must comply with the same development standards, permitting submission requirements, and timelines as a 2,500-square-foot house on a one-acre lot.”
December 4, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
While Strong Towns’ Chief Technical Advisor Edward Erfurt was in Flagstaff, Arizona, the city council had declared a housing emergency. The city and community were on board with ADUs, but builders still couldn’t make the projects work because there's no broader system of support.
Graphic with a duotone photo of a state capitol building in the background. Text reads: “While Strong Towns’ Chief Technical Advisor Edward Erfurt was in Flagstaff, Arizona, the city council had declared a housing emergency. Here’s what happened, in his words:” Select text in a screenshot are highlighted.
December 4, 2025 at 11:48 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
strongtowns.org
Read more in “How Fayetteville’s New Program Makes It Easy To Build Housing” on our site! buff.ly/hxkexmZ
Screenshot of the article “How Fayetteville’s New Program Makes It Easy To Build Housing.” Read more on strongtowns.org
December 3, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
It also helps people know where to start—a crucial piece for getting new and local developers into the system. And moving from gatekeeping to guidance also means city staff work hands-on with developers and builders who are eager to build what the city needs.
Graphic with text: “City staff worked with local developers and builders to find and proactively address obstacles to building. Like the city’s sidewalk requirement. Instead of requiring each builder to install a sidewalk themselves, they could instead pay a fee, and the city would later add sidewalks when more homes are built in the area. This makes the process more efficient and coordinated.” Graphic with text: “The program currently applies only to the downtown and Walker Park neighborhoods, two of the oldest neighborhoods that are well suited for infill development. But the program is a practical example of how thoughtful city interventions can make a real difference.” The map of where the program applies is also visible.
December 3, 2025 at 11:48 PM
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
strongtowns.org
It trained us to experience isolation as prosperity and consumption as citizenship.

But if the Suburban Experiment trained us this way, then Strong Towns, this bottom-up movement, is teaching us the opposite. It’s teaching us that we will not outsource belonging.
Grainy photo of a photo with tracing paper. Text reads: “But if the Suburban Experiment trained us to experience isolation as prosperity and consumption as citizenship, the bottom-up movement is teaching us the opposite.” Grainy photo of a photo with tracing paper. Text reads: “We will not outsource belonging.”
December 2, 2025 at 4:19 PM
strongtowns.org
The Suburban Experiment promised prosperity and wealth by spreading out. But the farther we spread out, the more abstract our systems became.

The Suburban Experiment didn’t just change our geography. It rewired our culture.
Grainy photo of a photo with tracing paper. Text reads: “The Suburban Experiment didn’t just change our geography. It rewired our culture.” Grainy photo of a photo with tracing paper. Text reads: “It trained us to experience isolation as prosperity and consumption as citizenship.”
December 2, 2025 at 4:19 PM
strongtowns.org
Read more in "Complete Streets in Name Only: How Federal Transportation Policy Undermines Local Outcomes" on our site: buff.ly/6YesJwU
Screenshot of the article “Complete Streets in Name Only: How Federal Transportation Policy Undermines Local Outcomes.” Read more on strongtowns.org
November 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
By aligning itself with federal funding mechanisms, proponents allowed its priorities to be diluted.

Instead of producing streets that are safe, human-scaled, and integrated into neighborhoods, we’ve ended up with expensive projects that serve as compliance exercises.
Text reads: “By aligning itself with federal funding mechanisms, Complete Streets proponents allowed its priorities to be diluted. Instead of producing streets that are safe, human-scaled and integrated into the fabric of neighborhoods, we’ve ended up with expensive projects that serve as compliance exercises for grant eligibility. We shouldn’t only rely on federally-funded complete streets to have safe streets.”
November 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
A citizen-led Crash Analysis Studio examining the crash found that the crossing itself is shadowed by poor lighting, flanked by signage that obstructs visibility, and surrounded by traffic traveling well above the posted 30 mph speed limit.
Text reads: In 2023, a citizen-led Crash Analysis Studio in Hyattsville found several issues that the city could address immediately to prevent future crashes. These were a few of them.” Yellow arrows on a photo of Ager Road point to redundant, confusing signage, slip lanes instead of actual turns, and 26 feet to the median as elements of the design that led to the crash.
November 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
strongtowns.org
Despite these accolades, a pedestrian — Hellen Jorgensen — was killed at the only designated crossing along the corridor.
Text reads: “Take Ager Road in Hyattsville, Maryland as an example. This project cost about $15 million and was heralded as a model fo the “Green-Complete Streets” approach. Despite these accolades, a pedestrian — Hellen Jorgensen — was killed at the only designated crossing along the corridor.” A photo of a memorial at Ager Road is also shown.
November 26, 2025 at 11:48 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
Leawood can follow their example.

Read more in “Low Crime, High Risk: The Deadly Streets of Kansas City’s Safest Suburb” on our site. buff.ly/BJ9D3zK
Text reads: “With 15 crashes in 5 years, Leawood cannot afford to keep waiting. The city can follow the example of others who have asked: what can we do this week to make our streets safer?” A screenshot of strongtowns.org/crashstudio is also shown Screenshot of the article “Low Crime, High Risk: The Deadly Streets of Kansas City’s Safest Suburb.” Read more on strongtowns.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:48 PM