By Christine Moore, Orange County District 2 Commissioner

This fall I signed up for a cohort of leaders from across the nation to learn more about the Strong Towns approach to improving cities. Strong Towns is a non-profit organization that advocates for financially strong and resilient cities and municipalities.  

The philosophy emphasizes incremental development, bottom-up solutions, and long-term financial sustainability over short-term growth.  

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of Strong Towns’ core principles: 

• Financial Resiliency: Prioritizing the long-term financial health of communities by focusing on sustainable infrastructure development and responsible budgeting. 

• Incremental Development: Encouraging small, similar improvements and investments.  

• Bottom-Up Approach: Empowering local governments and residents to drive change and adapt solutions to their individual community.  

• People-Centered Design: Emphasizing walkable, mixed-use development, and safe streets.  

• Rejection of the “Suburban Experiment”: Critiquing the financial unsustainability of post-war suburban development patterns and advocating for a shift toward more compact, mixed-use, and walkable urban areas while protecting rural settlements and communities. 

In his seminal book, Strong Towns – A Bottom Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity, Chuck Marohn wrote a chapter on place-oriented government. It talks about “tweaks” to focus on broad wealth creation. Let’s face it: When citizens want things, the issue is always finding sufficient funding.  

Marohn lists in Table 9.1 conventional priorities and how if shifted slightly they can produce more wealth. In engineering, while critical to reduce congestion, why not also build value? When the state or county widens or resurfaces a roadway, a city or its volunteers could create a new green space. 

Marohn also warns about simply securing state and federal funding to build new “stuff” if there isn’t a current, sufficient tax base to support the ongoing maintenance obligations of said project. 

For economic development, Marohn states conventional tactics encourage the recruitment of new businesses. However, what if they helped 50 existing businesses add one new position each? While creating high paying jobs is an appropriate function, how about creating spaces that promote job creation.  

This has been the practice of my “people group” teams. As they clean up corridors, the volunteers inspire others to do likewise. Then, voila! There is a new business or new single-family home in this previously blighted area.  

You are invited this Saturday, July 26, to join me, People of North Apopka, Dayspring Community Church, and the Apopka football team to clean up Old Plymouth. Bring pole saws, rakes, and gloves. We will park at the Dayspring Community Church. We begin at 8 a.m. and will be completed by 11 a.m.