Cars and the strong town movement are two topics that may seem unrelated, but they

actually have a lot to do with each other. The strong town movement is a grassroots
initiative that advocates for building resilient, prosperous, and livable
communities that are not dependent on cars. Cars, on the other hand, are often seen
as a symbol of freedom, convenience, and status, but they also have many negative
impacts on the environment, public health, social equity, and urban design.
One of the main arguments of the strong town movement is that car-based design is a
hidden form of inequity that excludes and marginalizes significant populations of
people who cannot or do not want to drive. These include children, seniors, people
with disabilities, low-income households, and people who prefer walking, biking, or
taking public transit. Car-based design also makes cities more expensive, less
safe, less healthy, and less attractive for everyone.
The strong town movement proposes a different approach to transportation and urban
planning, one that prioritizes people over cars. This means designing cities at the
scale of humans, not highways, and creating walkable, bikeable, and transit-
friendly neighborhoods that are connected by safe and comfortable streets. This
also means investing in local businesses, public spaces, and community assets that
make places worth traveling to, not just through.
The strong town movement is not anti-car, but rather pro-choice. It recognizes that
cars are sometimes necessary and useful, but they should not be the only or the
default option for getting around. It also acknowledges that cars are not a
sustainable or equitable solution for the long-term challenges that cities face,
such as climate change, economic decline, social isolation, and public health
crises.
The strong town movement is not a top-down or a one-size-fits-all prescription, but
rather a bottom-up and context-sensitive process that empowers local citizens to
shape their own communities according to their needs, values, and aspirations. It
is a movement that celebrates diversity, creativity, and innovation, and that seeks
to make cities more resilient, prosperous, and livable for all, not just cars.