Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity

Written by Charles L. Marohn, Jr.

Narrated by Matthew Boston

Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he cofounded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem.

You'll learn why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles-and why it just doesn't work. New development and high-risk investing don't generate enough wealth to support itself, and cities continue to struggle. Listen to this book to find out how cities large and small can focus on bottom-up investments to minimize risk and maximize their ability to strengthen the community financially and improve citizens' quality of life.

Strong Towns acknowledges that there is a problem with the American approach to growth and shows community leaders a new way forward. The Strong Towns response is a revolution in how we assemble the places we live.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Nov 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684577675

Reviews for Strong Towns

[Jennifer Lambert · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an amazing book, really opened up my understanding

[José Baltodano · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is really a book full of wisdom. He is quite experienced.

It taught me that life has consequences and as Thomas Sowell once said, life is full of trade-offs. Some towns are smarter or luckier (ex: when the state interferes for better or worse) than others.

[Joseph Biggin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What makes this book stand out among the many recent titles in the urbanism movement is its focus on the financial dynamics at play in local and regional governments. The author presents a sobering picture of how American governments have long been committed to development emphasizing growth, which he convincingly argues is financially unsustainable and serves to decrease wealth in the community. He advocates for government and citizen action to instead focus on increasing wealth in our communities.

It is frustrating and demoralizing to realize the damage that has been done to the fabric of American communities since World War II. But there is hope in the recognition and understanding of the problems along with proven strategies for addressing them. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the health of their local community and in that of the nation.

[Justin Jones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mahron’s insights here are honed from decades of work and hundreds of articles published. It’s a fantastic resource that should be required reading for all elected officials who hope to create communities that serve the needs of their residents.

[Oreo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was very interesting. I have an increasing interest in urban planning and how to affect our cities for the best, and Marohn's book and points are all very poignant and, in spite of showing how bad things have become due to our reliance in cars, hopeful. I will learn more and try to understand how I can also help in my city.

[Lisa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really fascinating stuff, I would encourage anyone who is interested in the viability of their local community to read this.