A CURBSIDE CHAT

JOHN T. REUTER, STRONG TOWNS

STRONGTOWNS.ORG | @STRONGTOWNS
SUPPORT A MODEL OF 

DEVELOPMENT THAT ALLOWS 

AMERICA’S CITIES, TOWNS AND 

NEIGHBORHOODS TO BECOME 

FINANCIALLY STRONG AND 

RESILIENT.
2020



Local Street Project

Road Improvement Project

• $6,600 cost per property

• 50% of costs assessed

• 37 years to recoup public contribution from 

adjoining tax base
Local Road Rehabilitation

Road Maintenance Project

• $354,000 total cost

• 79 years to recoup public expense from 

tax base

• To break even requires a 46% increase in 

property tax rates
Industrial Development

Industrial Park Development

• $2.1 million inflation-adjusted total cost

• $6.6 million in improvements induced

• Payback from current conditions happens in 29 years if 

all revenue devoted only to debt
Growth Ponzi Scheme
Growth Ponzi Scheme
Growth Ponzi Scheme
Serious implications for the future

The “Mechanisms of Growth” we have become 

accustomed to are waning.

Local governments are going to be forced to absorb the 

local costs of the current development pattern.

This can’t be done in the current pattern of 

development without large tax increases and/or 

large cuts in services.
So what do we do?

Build it and they will come....
Build it and they will come....
High Return Investments

$1,104,500 $618,500
High Return Investments

Auto Oriented $0.6 

million/acre

Traditional Pattern $1.1 

million/acre










Public 

investment 

process for 

a Strong 

Town

Humbly observe where people in the 

community struggle.

Ask the question: What is the next 

smallest thing we can do right now to 

address that struggle?

Do that thing. Do it right now.

Repeat.
Harrison, Hobbits & How-To’s
How Plans Go Wrong
Sit on a shelf
Uh oh...
Grand plans 

vs. 

Humble steps


Public 

investment 

process for 

a Strong 

Town

Humbly observe where people in the 

community struggle.

Ask the question: What is the next 

smallest thing we can do right now to 

address that struggle?

Do that thing. Do it right now.

Repeat.
compass vs. map

Start with “who,” 

not “what” or “how”
CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMERS

CO-CREATORS
We need more hobbits! We need more hobbits!
The Local 

Leader’s Toolkit: 

A Strong Towns 

Response to 

Pandemic
Leaders and 

Managers

Leaders

• Have followers and a 

constituency

• Responsibly break rules

• Encourage risk taking

• Sell a vision

• See opportunities

Managers

• Have subordinates

• Administer guidelines

• Play it safe

• Sell a project

• See potential failure
Sandpoint, Idaho
Oswego Renaissance 

Association
Broad Avenue, Memphis

• 29 Property Build/Renovations

• 50% increase in rents

• 25 New Businesses

• $15+ Million in New Investment
Three Phases

FIRST 60 DAYS 2 TO 12 MONTHS ONE YEAR AND 

BEYOND
Shift in 

Thinking 

(first 60 days)

Step Up

Orient Horizontal, Not Vertical

Be a Voice of Unity

Seize the Moment
Shift in 

Thinking 

(2 to 12 

months)

Recovery will not mean restoration.

You must work towards community 

self-sufficiency, fully knowing you 

won’t get all the way there.

There is a tradeoff between growth 

and stability.
Mid-Term Response

• Waive Home Occupation 

Restrictions

• Legalize Neighborhood Essential 

Services

• Kickstart Entrepreneurs

• Legalize Housing Adaptations

• Make Quick and Lean Investments 

in Biking and Walking
Mid-Term Response

• End Parking Requirements

• Start Growing Food

• Thicken Civic Infrastructure

• Begin Reorienting Bureaucracies

• Change How You Measure Success
Lower the Bar of Entry
Lower the Bar of Entry
Lower the Bar of Entry
Preparing for State/Federal “Assistance”
Local Priorities for 

Infrastructure Stimulus

• Prioritize maintenance over new 

capacity.

• Prioritize below-ground infrastructure 

over above-ground.

• Prioritize neighborhoods that are more 

than 75 years old.
Shift in 

Thinking 

(beyond one 

year)

Rely on little bets, not transformational projects.

Emphasize resiliency, not simply efficiency.

Design to adapt to feedback.

Use bottom-up action, not top-down systems.

Conduct as much of life as possible at a personal 

scale.

Always do the math.
Long-Term Response

• Focus on your downtown and an ecosystem 

of neighborhoods.

• Focus on neighborhood compatibility and 

not simply use.

• Focus on expanding housing opportunities.

• Focus on transportation as a means, not an 

end.
Long-Term Response

• Focus on economic development with a 

gardening mentality.

• Focus on leveraging public spaces.

• Focus on your people.

• Focus on reducing debts and liabilities.
strongtowns.org/toolkit