The intention of this repository is to act as an example of applying Strong Towns thinking to the design, construction, and maintenance of a municipal street system. There are a few important items to note. First and foremost, this guide is principally concerned with streets as opposed to roads. If you are unaware of the difference between the two please refer to this blog post.
Furthermore, it is important to understand the concept of incrementalism. That is, our cities are strongest when they develop as a series of small changes carried out by individuals and small groups. The scale at which municipal investments are made today (everything built to high standards and in a finished state), coupled with the large scale at which real estate development operates, has created a fragile system that is highly dependent on debt and is prone to serious disruption from external shocks. These problems were exposed during the financial crisis of the late 2000s and the vast majority of communities have done little to correct the root cause.
By contrast, a Strong Town seeks ways to eliminate downside risk in its infrastructure by making small improvements and continually seeking to cultivate community wealth through public investment. It also rejects the notion that any place is finished. As Jane Jacobs observed decades ago, change and continual revitalization are a prerequisite for a healthy community.
Lastly, one of the primary concerns of Strong Towns is ensuring the financial health and viability of our cities. These guidelines are an attempt to recognize that the materials and maintenance regime associated with a given street should be commensurate with the wealth generated by it in the form of the real estate development it enables. For example, a subdivision of large-lot single family homes is an inherently less efficient user of public resources than a neighborhood of townhomes. These guidelines recognize that the public resources dedicated to the former should be less than the latter. This is not a moral judgment; it is a financial one.
Typical street design guidelines and maintenance practices are not inherently responsive to the context of the real estate investment they enable. For example, your city's street design guidelines likely specify that all public roads are to be paved with asphalt or concrete from day 1.
These guidelines are divided into development typologies. The goal is to ensure that public investments in street infrastructure reflect the value created by those investments. A low value development should not receive the same level of investment as a development that adds significant wealth to the community.
This document features design guidelines for the following development typologies, which are described in more detail further on:
- Rural and large-lot residential
- Single family homes and duplexes
- Missing middle
- Urban mid- and high-rise
Most cities use a classification system to establish a hierarchy of streets. Engineers and planners refer to this as functional classification. The traditional functional classification scheme separates streets into three major groups, listed in order of importance:
- Arterials
- Collectors
- Locals
Many communities further subdivide these categories.
Note that these classifications are designed to emphasize the hierarchy related to motor vehicle traffic. Thus, an arterial street is designed to carry a large volume of motor vehicles. To the extent people walking or wheeling are also accommodated by this street, it is a happy byproduct of a design that is first and foremost concerned with moving cars, not a primary concern.
A Strong Town recognizes that motor vehicles can be a useful tool. However, it knows that car-centric street design results in expensive infrastructure that is poorly adapted to complex urban environments. It also degrades the value of surrounding real estate, undermining the very purpose for which a street exists.
This guide establishes standards for three types of street, which are described in more detail in subsequent sections:
- Connectors
- Thru-ways
- Boulevards