Strong Towns
Strong Towns: The Book
If we want a Strong Town, we must stop tilting the playing field against the small businesses, against the local entrepreneur. Dec 16, 2020. Charles Marohn.
As we stare 2021 in the face, knowing highly contagious variants are causing a second round of lockdowns in the European nations, we have to wonder what lies in store for us. Small businesses and communities may not be out of the woods yet…and it’s time to look at possibilities for real growth.
Strong Towns is a book and a movement, all in one. It centers on the premise that the growth of a town like Blue Springs rests not on its infrastructure, but on its penchant for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Whether you agree with the premise or not, investigating the concept is worth a little grey matter. I found it fascinating. Strong Towns, the book and the movement, is easily accessible.
Suburbia is an American phenomenon, and really, one fed by wide open spaces. It centers on roads and cars and incorporated businesses replicating themselves across the nation. Contrast that with life in New York City, for example, which reflects more the lifestyle of other nations. Each small block or neighborhood has its own laundromat, grocers, drug store, floral shop, etc. Shoppers come from the neighborhood, not from across town. Growth and prosperity are intrinsically tied to the neighborhood. A fun, tongue-in-cheek read on how life is different between NY and local suburbia lies in Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck. It opened by eyes to a new way of building a local community, and that was before I heard about Strong Towns or read any of their literature.
This isn’t new. In a 2017 article, Strong Towns suggested five ways to create local wealth:
Build a better block.
Take baby steps in local investments.
Create a renaissance in helping blocks develop ties, putting a best foot forward.
Focus on growing jobs, not attracting new businesses.
Create small share investments, with local financing.
Proponents of Strong Towns look at our current model of suburban growth, and whether you subscribe to all their claims, some of their ideas don’t sound half bad. I, for one, applaud small business, local growth, even when I’m not sure how to limp the process along.
However we do it, we all agree…let’s make Blue Springs strong! If we read the same materials we can discuss their merits, and we can put collective minds to work on the problem at hand: How do we generate real growth and prosperity for our community? How do we help local small businesses in real ways? What are the best low cost high yield suggestions for revitalizing our community?
Blue Springs is a community rich in talent, and that means we are also rich in ideas. It’s time to put those ideas to work in ways that will help us grow. I’m interested in your discussion on Strong Towns.