Strong Towns’ Post

You don't need to be afraid of ending parking mandates and subsidies. The long-lasting benefits far outweigh any temporary inconvenience. And with the amount of parking that already exists, chances are you'll still have plenty of spots to choose from.

Three ways you’re not as free as you think you are, thanks to North America's built environment: 1. We can't use our neighborhood streets to their fullest potential. Our roadways are designed to move high volumes of vehicles at high speeds. These engineering standards put pedestrians and bikers in danger, as well as making the roadways unpleasant to walk along. This reduction in foot traffic stifles local businesses, as people are less likely to give a small business a chance when they have to pull over and park instead of just stepping inside. Most people don't realize they can do something to change all this. 2. Strict zoning laws and federal loan standards limit people's choices to a single type of housing. Many are pushed toward large, single-family homes that plunge them into a lifetime of debt, when they might want smaller, multifamily, or mixed-use housing. Even if their area's zoning laws would allow them to build a different kind of housing, financing that housing without federal loans is often impossible. 3. You're not free to choose the amount of parking that best serves your business. Parking minimums force you to either abandon your dream, go through a long and sometimes expensive process to get a variance, or find the money to buy out your neighbors and replace them with parking lots. These laws drastically favor big box stores, which have access to far more resources than the average local business. What can you do to fix this? Get involved on a local level. Connect with your Local Conversation, speak in a public meeting, start a letter-writing campaign. Do something to make your voice heard. It's the best way to drive real, positive change for your community.

When people insist that their town just needs the right KIND of big project to become resilient🤦 Incremental development is the key ingredient, not a side effect.

If you're a wiz at social media and want to help spread the Strong Towns message, go to our website to apply: https://buff.ly/48tA0EC

Have you experienced the ways transportation systems can help (or hurt) a city?

North American road infrastructure signals to drivers that there shouldn’t be any pedestrians or bikers in an area, so they fail to see the people who are actually there. This increases the risk of collisions and prevents reform — why would you make an area more friendly to nondrivers if you think none of them are there? If cities are to have safer streets, they need to start acknowledging the people who use them.

Regulatory reform doesn’t always mean replacing or changing zoning codes. Great designers are experts at working within existing codes to increase housing options, and this method is often more attainable and scalable than actually changing the code. Check out these step-by-step illustrations (courtesy of @R. John Anderson) of how two basic lots in Durham, NC, can be turned into a five-house cottage court, all while complying with the city's existing regulations. Learn more: https://hubs.ly/Q02CQmNb0

"I'm a Strong Towns aficionado. I think they have it virtually correct," says Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss. In this interview, he went on to discuss the importance of abolishing parking minimums, allowing incremental development, and improving local housing affordability. Making these things possible on a local scale should be a priority for all policy-makers. Check out the whole interview on Brookline News: https://hubs.la/Q02DMr0m0