A new way forward for sustainable quality of life in cities of all sizes
Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co-founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem.
Inside, you'll learn why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles--and why it just doesn't work. New development and high-risk investing don't generate enough wealth to support itself, and cities continue to struggle. Read this book to find out how cities large and small can focus on bottom-up investments to minimize risk and maximize their ability to strengthen the community financially and improve citizens' quality of life.
- Develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying logic behind the "traditional" search for never-ending urban growth
- Learn practical solutions for ameliorating financial struggles through low-risk investment and a grassroots focus
- Gain insights and tools that can stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls and unexpected downturns
- Become a part of the Strong Towns revolution by shifting the focus away from top-down growth toward rebuilding American prosperity
Strong Towns acknowledges that there is a problem with the American approach to growth and shows community leaders a new way forward. The Strong Towns response is a revolution in how we assemble the places we live.
Jacket Description/Back:
PRAISE FOR STRONG TOWNS
"Sometimes, in our depleted and cynical times, one hears 'Well then, what is your genius plan? ' Here it is, finally, with extraordinary force and clarity: a genius plan."
--ANDRES DUANY, author of Suburban Nation and founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism
"Rebuilding our cities, towns, suburbs, and communities won't be easy. But Marohn shows us a way to a better future, driven bottom-up by our many and varied strong towns. Marohn has written the playbook for rebuilding our communities. A must-read for mayors, city builders, urbanists, and all of us who want to live in and create stronger, more vibrant, and inclusive places."
--RICHARD FLORIDA, author of The Rise of the Creative Class, The Great Reset, and The New Urban Crisis
"Charles Marohn brings the same incisive creativity to Strong Towns that citizens and city leaders alike must bring to their communities."
--JANETTE SADIK-KHAN, Bloomberg Associates, former NYC Transportation Commissioner, author of Street Fight
"Charles's genuine passion, his spot-on observations, and clear insights make the case as to why we need a bottom-up revolution to rebuild American prosperity that will compel us to rethink how to make places more livable, sustainable, and prosperous."
--MITCHELL J. SILVER, past president of the American Planning Association
"Somewhere between Small is Beautiful and Cities and The Wealth of Nations can be found the gem of Strong Towns, our current moment's most cogent, practical, and necessary response to the problem of urban economics."
--JEFF SPECK, author of Walkable City and Walkable City Rules
"A cogent call to rethink our faith in and commitment to unbridled and sprawling growth as the solution to challenges faced by our nation's cities and towns."
--PATRICE FREY, President and CEO of the National Main Street Center
Jacket Description/Flap:
THE WAY WE BUILD OUR CITIES IS FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED. IT'S TIME FOR A BOTTOM-UP REVOLUTION.
America's cities are trapped in a vicious cycle. We can't meet our basic financial needs, yet continue to fund new highways, new megaprojects, and new developments that fail to generate prosperity. Short-term growth may create the illusion of wealth, but it comes at the expense of long-term solvency, creating unpayable future liabilities.
Charles L. Marohn, Jr. wants us to break this cycle with lessons our ancestors learned over thousands of years of trial and error. To create cities that last, we must build incrementally, in small actions at the local level, with a focus on feedback and adaptability. This formula will restore strength and stability to our fragile system. And in his new book, Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity, he breaks with modern practice to present a new vision of urban development that creates organic resilience.
Readers will discover:
- Why our cities are on the cusp of a long, slow decline, and how to approach the challenge in a rational way
- Why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles--and why it just doesn't work
- Why old and blighted areas are often more financially productive than shiny new ones
- The power of "little bets" to strengthen communities and improve the lives of citizens
- How humble public engagement can create amazing insights
- The surprising ways that strong neighborhoods make us better people
This book lays out a new paradigm that not only promises to address the long-standing problems facing America's city leaders, but also offers unexpected insights into what it means to be human. Thoughtful, practical, quietly passionate, and at times poignant, Strong Towns is a must-read for anyone who cares deeply about creating places where people want to live.
www.strongtowns.org
Table of Contents:
Foreword Michele C. Martinez ix
1. Human Habitat 1
2. Incremental Growth 15
3. An Infinite Game 37
4. The Infrastructure Cult 63
5. Growth or Stability 83
6. Rational Responses 107
7. Productive Places 125
8. Making Strong Investments 147
9. Place-Oriented Government 171
10. An Intentional Life 199
Afterword LeVette Fuller 219
Acknowledgments 223
About Strong Towns 225
Get Involved in the Strong Towns Movement 227
About the Author 229
Index 231
CHARLES L. MAROHN, JR. is the president and co-founder of Strong Towns, a nationally recognized non-profit media organization working to shape the conversation on growth, development, and the future of cities. He has two decades of experience as a land use planner and certified Professional Engineer (PE). Charles was recently named #10 on Planetizen's list of the Top 100 Most Influential Urbanists.
Wiley
Pub Date: October 01, 2019
1.0" H x 9.2" L x 6.2" W
256 pages
hardcover