• Good congestion, bad congestion

    Our model for traffic congestion is flawed. We need to make the crucial distinction between good and bad congestion and plan our transportation systems accordingly.
    A few years ago, after taking a blood test, my doctor told me I had a cholesterol problem. I wasn’t in immediate danger, but I started running regularly. After a year I returned for tests, and he told me the good news: My life expectancy had risen eight years . That was my best checkup ever. What...Read more

  • The connected network answer to traffic congestion

    A hierarchical system of subdivisions branching off of arterial roads is a "perfect recipe for congestion."
    Today, Strong Towns advocates for connected street networks to solve traffic congestion. Connected networks—grids or modified grids—disperse rather than concentrate traffic. Hierarchical streets networks—illustrated as subdivisions with loop roads and cul-de-sacs branching off of arterials—...Read more

  • Across the US, too many pedestrians are dying

    A new report called Dangerous By Design 2019 once again reminds us that thousands of people on foot are cut down each year in violent, preventable deaths.
    Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition released Dangerous By Design 2019 this week, and America seems to be getting more dangerous for pedestrians. Pedestrian deaths have been rising in recent years—to about 6,000 each year in 2016 and 2017. Back in 2008, the figure was...Read more

  • For cities and streets, 101 salvations

    Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places shows how to make communities walkable—and better places to live.
    In 2012, in a book called Walkable City , Jeff Speck set out to help small and mid-sized communities provide their residents “a quality of life that makes them want to stay.” As Speck saw it, some big cities, including New York and Portland, Oregon, had been making impressive strides toward good...Read more