“How do we get more….?” is the question of the addict. It allows destructive habits to conflate wants and needs…
Author: Charles Marohn
Charles Marohn is a Professional Engineer (PE) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). He’s the Founder and President of StrongTowns.org . He was named one of the 10 Most Influential Urbanists of all time by Planetizen in 2017.
OPINION: If We Want to Make Things Better, We’ll Have to Do It Ourselves, Part Two
The crossing of a Rubicon is also important because it can’t be uncrossed. A norm breached is no longer a norm…
OPINION: If We Want to Make Things Better, We’ll Have to Do It Ourselves, Part One
The fact that we live with injustice should not prevent us from seeing where people are broken…
The Pros and Cons of Strong Towns, Part Two
The neighborhood I live in used to have a dozen different grocery stores. Today it has none…
The Pros and Cons of Strong Towns, Part One
In terms of strong arguments against, there are two common ones that are weak and then one really good one that is never made…
OPINION: A Plan for Strong Rural Communities
America’s rural places are economically and culturally fragile, lagging urbanized areas in key metrics of health and success. The gap is growing…
OPINION: It’s All Local Now
It is 2am and I’m writing an article I wasn’t planning to write. In fact, until my teenage daughters intervened, I was planning to have a nice dinner…
OPINION: Building More Roads Won’t Help Repair Our Economy
Bottom-up investments have less risk and higher financial returns than the federally guided projects of the past…
OPINION: When Eagerness to Help Creates a Dysfunctional Town
I was at a city council meeting where a resident showed up to complain about a neighbor who wasn’t bringing their garbage can in quickly enough after pickup day….
OPINION: The (Act Like You) INVEST in America Act
We built all the infrastructure already, and then some. We just didn’t bother to make it pay any kind of financial return…
OPINION: When Money Dies, Part Two
In Germany of 1923, you had the communists on one side and the national socialists on the other. Their numbers grew as the situation became more desperate…
OPINION: When Money Dies, Part One
To pay this back, the German government literally just printed money. They started up the printing press and they printed, and printed, and printed money until everyone was paid back….
OPINION: Police Must Reflect Community’s Values
Cities need to assert their own leadership and reorient themselves horizontally to focus on the urgent needs of their residents. That’s how we build strong cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
OPINION: The Endgame for Small Towns
My hometown of Brainerd is a ward of the state. So is nearly every small town in America….