“Growth once served us, but now we serve growth...In pursuit of growth nationally, we have rendered our cities financially insolvent.”
— Strong Towns, Charles L. Marohn
— Strong Towns, Charles L. Marohn
”The economics of a traditional city was like a person standing. It could grow, rapidly, but it was also stable without growth. In contrast, the post-Depression American city is...like a person on a bicycle; it must keep growing, at ever accelerating rates, or things fall apart.”
“Any community serious about their own financial stability is going to take the obvious first step & stop adding more liability. There is no reason for any North American city to build another foot of roadway, or put in another length of pipe, to serve any new property anywhere.”
What is the difference in land productivity, downtown versus big box store? Marohn present the numbers for Asheville NC. And this doesn't include public investments, tax breaks or infrastructure spending. If it did, the numbers would be far far worse for the big box store lot.
“To build a productive place, people must be able to start with nothing and, through their efforts, end up with something.” — Strong Towns, Charles Marohn
