Your Quick Guide to Ask Strong Towns Anything

A Member-Exclusive Benefit

Ask Strong Towns Anything (ASTA) is our weekly live Zoom Q&A for Strong Towns members. It's a place to explore questions, gain practical insights, connect with fellow members, and learn directly from Strong Towns staff and guest experts.

As we've continued improving the member experience, ASTA has moved to The Commons, our online member hub.

Find ASTA in The Commons

The Commons is now the primary home for member engagement at Strong Towns. There you'll find:

• Upcoming ASTA sessions and event calendar
• Live event access and recordings
• Member discussion forums
• Member directory
• Membership resources and tools
• Courses and educational content

Because The Commons is now the primary location for ASTA, we will no longer maintain an up-to-date ASTA page in the Action Lab. The Action Lab will continue to serve as a resource library, but upcoming themes, featured guests, schedules, and recordings will be managed through The Commons.

What to Expect

ASTA sessions are held weekly throughout most of the year and are shaped by questions submitted by members.

Some sessions focus on specific themes such as:

• Housing reform
• Parking reform
• Ending highway expansions
• Local government finance
• Running for office
• Community engagement and advocacy

Other sessions are more open-ended, allowing members to bring a wide variety of questions and experiences to the discussion.

Each session typically includes:

• Live Q&A with Strong Towns staff and guest experts
• Discussions on timely issues affecting communities
• Opportunities to learn from fellow members
• Networking and relationship-building with people working toward similar goals

No prior expertise is required. Some of the most valuable insights often come from members sharing their own successes, challenges, and lessons learned.

Submitting Questions

Questions drive the conversation.

Submit a question at:

strongtowns.org/asta

Our team reviews submissions and groups them into themes that reflect member interests, ongoing Strong Towns initiatives, and emerging issues facing communities. We do our best to address submitted questions during upcoming sessions and, when possible, notify members when their question is discussed.

The best questions are specific, actionable, and connected to challenges you're facing in your community. These tend to generate the most useful conversations for everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to register for every session?

No. Once you've registered through The Commons, you'll receive a Zoom link that can be added to your calendar. The same Zoom link is used for future ASTA sessions, so you're all set after signing up.

Can I submit a question if I can't attend?

Absolutely. We'll do our best to address your question during an upcoming session. If your question is discussed, we may also send you a recording so you can catch up later.

Can non-members attend?

ASTA is primarily reserved for Strong Towns members. Occasionally, we make exceptions for special events, featured guests, or other unique circumstances.

Missed a Session?

Recordings are available in:

• The Commons Events Library (for members)
• The Ask Strong Towns Anything YouTube playlist (available to everyone)

Many past sessions include guest experts, practical resources, and discussions that remain valuable long after the live event.

Why Attend?

Regular attendees consistently tell us that ASTA helps them:

• Find practical solutions to local challenges
• Learn from the experiences of others
• Gain confidence in applying Strong Towns principles
• Contribute their own knowledge and insights
• Build relationships with people who care about creating stronger communities

The hour always seems to fly by. Members often leave with new ideas, fresh perspectives, and a greater sense of what's possible in the places they care about most.

Ready to join the conversation? Visit The Commons and check the Events calendar for upcoming sessions.