Strong Towns is an American

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

dedicated to helping

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the United States and Canada achieve financial resiliency through

civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

. The

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

points to American post-World War II suburban development as a failure and seeks to improve communities through

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

concepts such as

walkability In urban planning, walkability is the accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it s ...

, mixed-use zoning, and infill development. According to Strong Towns, the group seeks to end highway expansion; encourages localities to use transparent accounting practices in showing the financial impacts of infrastructure, especially suburban infrastructure; build incremental housing; build safe, productive, and human-oriented streets; and end parking mandates and

subsidies A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acce ...

. Proponents of Strong Towns describe its philosophy as "a conservative vision for community."Hendrix, Michael
"A Stronger America Needs ‘Strong Towns’ First,"
September 27, 2019, ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a bimonthly magazine published by the American Ideas Institute. The magazine was founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos to advance an anti- neoconservative perspect ...

,'' retrieved January 29, 2025; also reprinted by the

Manhattan Institute The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (renamed in 1981 from the International Center for Economic Policy Studies) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservative think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs.R. Emmett Tyrrell, ...

a

/ref> Critics describe it as anti-government, business-libertarian economics and politics cloaked in "progressive" clothing.

History

The organization was founded by

Charles Marohn Charles Marohn (born 1973) is an American author, land-use planner, municipal engineer, and the founder and president of Strong Towns, an organization which advocates for the Urban consolidation, development of dense towns and the Urban growth b ...

. Marohn is a former

professional engineer A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

and

city planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...

, and the organization is headquartered in his home town of

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd ( ) is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluen ...

. Prior to Strong Towns, Marohn started the Community Growth Institute, his own planning firm, in the early 2000s. Marohn often felt that the cities his firm was collaborating with were becoming overbuilt and could be heading towards financial problems in the long run. Frustrated at officials in these cities resisting change, and due to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, Marohn was spurred into starting a blog to bring attention to these concerns. The name Strong Towns was chosen by Jon Commers, an associate of Marohn's. Marohn's blog was subsequently renamed from theplannerblog.com to the Strong Towns blog, and in November 2009 the Strong Towns organization was officially launched by Marohn, Commers and Ben Oleson, a former business partner of Marohn's from the Community Growth Institute.

Members

Strong Towns members are primarily from the US and Canada as historically both nations adopted shared approaches to transportation engineering, city planning and

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

during the 20th century. Membership requires a yearly or monthly fee with membership dues being used to fund the operation of the Strong Towns organization. The Strong Towns 2024 annual report revealed that the organization had 5,700 members at the end of 2024.

References

Non-profit organizations based in Minnesota Political advocacy groups in the United States Public transport advocacy organizations Economic advocacy groups in the United States {{Planning-stub