Charles Marohn

Housing is an investment. Investment prices must go up. Housing is shelter. When the price of shelter goes up, people experience distress. This is the housing trap. It’s time to escape.

The costs of the North American transportation system are too high—and not just in money, but in time, safety, and quality of life. No one should have to live in a community where transportation gets worse while costing more. It’s unwise and unfair to be wasting precious time and resources on something this bad.

In Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, Strong Towns founder and president Charles Marohn pulls back the curtain on the North American transportation system. Drawing on his… Show more

The costs of the North American transportation system are too high—and not just in money, but in time, safety, and quality of life. No one should have to live in a community where transportation gets worse while costing more. It’s unwise and unfair to be wasting precious time and resources on something this bad.

In Confessions of a Recovering Engineer, Strong Towns founder and president Charles Marohn pulls back the curtain on the North American transportation system. Drawing on his decades of experience as a professional engineer and planner, he explains why the conventional approach to traffic engineering is making people less safe, bankrupting towns and cities, destroying the fabric of communities, and actually worsening the problems (like congestion) engineers set out to solve.

He also talks about how transportation can be fixed—and why fixing it will involve not just engineers, but local residents and officials who have become effective and empowered advocates, connected with others to make real change.

It is possible to build a transportation system that makes you, your family, and your community safer and more prosperous. This book will show you how. Show less

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 co-founded, 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.

Inside, you’ll learn why inducing growth and… Show more

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 co-founded, 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.

Inside, 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. Read 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.

Develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying logic behind the “traditional” search for never-ending urban growth.
- Learn practical solutions for ameliorating financial struggles through low-risk investment and a grassroots focus
- Gain insights and tools that can stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls and unexpected downturns
- Become a part of the Strong Towns revolution by shifting the focus away from top-down growth toward rebuilding American prosperity
- 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. Show less