Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Ever heard of "Strong Towns"?

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> Ken Winter <kenatsun [at] gmail.com>
> is the author of the message below.
> 
> I just came across the 'Strong Towns' organization in this New York Times
> article

> <https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/climate/car-free-arizona.html?unlocked_article_code=1.704.uBaZ.vhSNebK_nMxV&smid=url-share>

> about a car-free development in Arizona. See their website at
> https://www.strongtowns.org/, and also their 'strategic plan', attached.

> They seem to have a lot of kindred-spiritness, and potential synergies, with 
> cohousing.
> 
> Have you heard of it?  Know anything about it?  Have there been any actual 
> connections or collaborations between Strong Towns and cohousers?

I posted about Strong Towns beginning a few years ago. They are a fabulous 
organization. The man who founded is Chuck Marhon an engineer who used to work 
for the state but began to see that what he was asked to do in building roads 
was not in the best interests of the people, only the cars. The website and his 
books give wonderful examples of how city planning causes accidents and deaths. 

What I really like is that he works with towns on realistic budgets. Few 
politicians think long-term. Civil servants have to take responsibility. And he 
teaches them to always look gift horses in the mouth. Towns have to budget for 
future maintenance costs and they too often don’t.

When a $500,000 federal grant is available to resurface and widen a main 
thoroughfare, look carefully at whether it will be an aid or a drain on the 
city. What is the advantage of widening the street even if the resurfacing 
seems to be free. The wider road becomes a speedway and splits a walkable 
neighborhood. And increases the number of feet of roads to be maintained.

He also distinguishes between streets and roads. Streets should be narrow for 
local slow traffic and pedestrian friendly. Streets are what make a 
neighborhood livable and a commercial district successful. 

“Roads" should be used to move traffic, wider with fewer entrances and exits. 
Not running in front of schools or through shopping and residential areas. 

Most of what we build are “stroads” — too wide, too many entrances and exits, 
not walkable. They are neither efficient for moving traffic nor people–friendly 
for businesses, schools, and residential neighborhoods. The design of the road 
should control traffic speeds. Drivers take their clues from the street — don’t 
expect a 25 mph speed limit to be observed on a 4-lane street.

He uses the same kind of reasoning that benefits cohousing. One thought about 
cohousing plans is that we need to go over them with the maintenance person at 
a nearby condo. How are you going to change the bulbs in the lights 2-storeys 
up? Is this hallway too narrow for the floor cleaning machine? What does it 
cost to maintain that pool?

The state board that licenses engineers tried to strip away his credentials a 
few years ago because it has a rule that no engineer can criticize the work of 
another engineer. That’s what he was doing. He won.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org