Strong Towns

Calling all Midwest Strong Towns Members! On November 12, join fellow Strong Towns members from across the Midwest for a lively Member Week gathering focused on connection, conversation, and community. We’ll celebrate the growing presence of Strong Towns advocates in your region, hear member stories about what first inspired their involvement, and share updates on upcoming events and opportunities. You’ll meet others who are working to build stronger, more resilient places—and leave with new ideas to carry forward in your own community. Whether you’ve been part of the movement for years or are just getting started, your voice and experience are a vital part of this conversation.

Had a great time with Charles Marohn of Strong Towns on the Strong Towns Podcast, debating strategies for solving America's housing shortage. Enjoy! https://lnkd.in/gsb4XtGS

We’re excited to share that Zoe Tishaev and Dylan DelliSanti from the Cities Work team at the Institute for Justice were recently featured on the Bottom Up Revolution podcast by Strong Towns! In their episode, Zoe and Dylan discuss why small businesses are vital to thriving local economies — and how cities can make it cheaper, faster, and simpler for entrepreneurs to open and grow their businesses. If you care about small business, economic opportunity, and practical ways to revitalize your community, this one’s for you. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eZK-KvPX

Lancaster County needs more homes that working people can afford. Who will build these homes? Charles Marohn, Founder of Strong Towns, is visiting Lancaster next week to share how to empower small, local developers to create the housing we need. The event is called "Give Me Shelter: Solving Lancaster’s Housing Crisis With Small, Local Development" and is on Thursday, November 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at West Art. Presented by Strong Towns Lancaster and Tenfold's Coalition for Sustainable Housing, this interactive evening will explore what it takes to build a housing-ready community, one where small-scale developers, municipal leaders, and neighbors can all play a role. What to Expect: - A keynote from Charles “Chuck” Marohn, founder of Strong Towns and author of Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis - A local panel featuring Dana Hanchin (HDC MidAtlantic), Chad Martin (Chestnut Housing), Douglas Smith (U.S. Green Building Council), and Ben L. (Parcel B Development Company) - Table conversations, Q&A, and networking over light refreshments Who Should Attend: Municipal officials, faith leaders, small developers, local employers, and community members who are passionate about housing solutions that strengthen Lancaster County’s future. Event Details: 📅 Thursday, November 13 🕠 5:30–7:30 p.m. 📍 West Art “City Hall,” 800 Buchanan Ave, Lancaster 🎟️ FREE registration at https://lnkd.in/dZqFheVS If you're in Lancaster, I'd love to see you there!

With its story of community love and renewal, Marion, Ohio won this year’s Strongest Town Contest. And now you have an opportunity to learn more about their story. On November 6 at 12pm Central, join Evelyn Warr-Omness — director of the Marion City/County Regional Planning Commission — as shares how Marion, Ohio, beat the odds to win the 2025 Strongest Town Contest. Marion has faced the same economic challenges and decline that so many communities have seen in recent decades, but by focusing on small, strategic actions and learning from each success, they’ve charted a path toward long-term resilience. Evelyn will walk attendees through the mindset and practical steps that helped Marion “do a lot with a little,” offering valuable insights for anyone working to strengthen their place. Bonus: This is a great opportunity to get tips and inspiration for your own community’s application to the 2026 Strongest Town Contest! Strong Towns members can join Evelyn in the exclusive “Member Debrief” after the session to ask their own questions about Marion’s path toward strength.

Two cities are now closer to being Housing-Ready! Denver, CO is cleaning up the process for the next smallest increment of development. Accessory Dwelling Units — like “granny flats,” mother-in-law suites, casitas, backyard cottages, and more — are now permitted in all zoning districts that allow residential use. This change streamlines the process for permitting ADUs, saving city resources and residents’ time and money. And in Baltimore, MD, Mayor Brandon Scott signed four bills into law that “remove requirements for off-street parking, allow people to build closer to the edges of their property lines, and eliminate a requirement that new buildings between four and six stories have more than one stairwell.” These changes, according to supporters, will “increase housing density, availability and affordability, which would in turn start to address some of the city’s most entrenched issues, such as population loss.” Links to stories about these changes are in the comments. And if you want your city to do the same, check out our Housing-Ready Toolkits, also linked in the comments.

Our housing crisis is not a numbers problem; our housing crisis is a systems and strategies problem. There are numerous financial products and grants that can fund housing, yet we continue to run short. This is occurring because we continue to place arbitrary regulatory barriers in front of housing, making it more difficult and expensive to build. Denver is starting to tackling some startling regulatory barriers by eliminating entire zoning categories. “By adding accessory dwelling units to all the residential zone districts within the Denver zoning code, we are actually able to delete 16 districts that aren’t needed,” Senior City Planner Justin Montgomery said. That's an astonishing number of zoning categories established for the singular purpose to allow backyard cottages and granny flats. How many more small changes can Denver implement to untangle the zoning code and support more housing?

Hello, Southern Strong Towns members! On November 12, join fellow Strong Towns members from across the Southern U.S. for a lively Member Week gathering focused on connection, conversation, and community. We’ll celebrate the growing presence of Strong Towns advocates in your region, hear member stories about what first inspired their involvement, and share updates on upcoming events and opportunities. You’ll meet others who are working to build stronger, more resilient places—and leave with new ideas to carry forward in your own community. Whether you’ve been part of the movement for years or are just getting started, your voice and experience are a vital part of this conversation.