Reviews
Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity by Charles L. Marohn Jr.
milo10000's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.0
A take on modern city planning focused almost solely on the long-term solvency of cities. Well-written where it counts, though I would call parts of it somewhat speculative, especially the sociocultural digression at the end.
rainpunk's review
3.0
I find all the ideas compelling, but I'm disappointed with the lack of hard facts and data used to support Marohn's statements about the state of cities currently and the ways in which Strong Towns values applied make a difference. This was majority hypothetical and anecdotal. I strongly prefer the Strong Towns blog in comparison, where they frequently cite real data.
That being said, this is probably a good starting point for people interested in broadly starting an understanding on the failure of the great suburban sprawl experiment.
That being said, this is probably a good starting point for people interested in broadly starting an understanding on the failure of the great suburban sprawl experiment.
siriuslysirius's review
3.0
As I expose myself to the way other countries live (mostly Europe), the more I realize how effed up just about everything we do as cities and “communities” are in the US. From having to drive every freaking place to shitty healthcare, to a broken, unfixable (as it is now) political system.
This exposure led me to this book.
Strong Towns started fine. Then personal anecdotes and stories that don’t fit well pop up. Couple that with lots of fluff, the substance is lost.
But, the substance makes sense. We need to rethink the endless outward expansion of towns and cities. I blame the New Deal - which did help create jobs, but the cost is a car obsessed culture and the loss of a walkable town and city.
Strong Towns ended very strangely with Charles talking about religion and whatnot that awkwardly kinda-sorta tied in - this adds nothing though.
This exposure led me to this book.
Strong Towns started fine. Then personal anecdotes and stories that don’t fit well pop up. Couple that with lots of fluff, the substance is lost.
But, the substance makes sense. We need to rethink the endless outward expansion of towns and cities. I blame the New Deal - which did help create jobs, but the cost is a car obsessed culture and the loss of a walkable town and city.
Strong Towns ended very strangely with Charles talking about religion and whatnot that awkwardly kinda-sorta tied in - this adds nothing though.
jazzypizzaz's review
3.0
I generally agree with what he envisions as a successful city -- empowered citizens that shape their own environments, tightknit communities, principles of good urbanism, human-centered design, wealth creation > mindless growth, etc. However it's hard to take him seriously when he's not citing anything of intellectual rigor (Jared Diamond as a primary source??), not engaging with cases where his proposals become more complicated or with real counter arguments, going on random digressions, employing overly simplistic unnecessary analogies, and generally not going into any grounded depth.
tinyplanet's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
leftcoast's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Read as a group over four sessions. The group leader used provided questions to steer the discussion. When combined with a group taking local action, it’s a great read. A little fry at times but that’s the material.
The analysis is very close to a marxist critique but never quite gets there. Palatable to a wide array of folks, which I find quite an achievement.
Overall good read if you are even remotely interested in learning how your North American city works (and doesn’t).
The analysis is very close to a marxist critique but never quite gets there. Palatable to a wide array of folks, which I find quite an achievement.
Overall good read if you are even remotely interested in learning how your North American city works (and doesn’t).