Growth Ponzi Scheme and #DoTheMath Case Studies – Strong Towns

"Your City's Wealth Isn't Where You Think" (English and Spanish)

Not only are small investments in poor neighborhoods the lowest risk, highest returning way for a community to build wealth, they are also the best way to lift people out of poverty without displacing them from their neighborhood. This case study from Lafayette, Louisiana, shows why.

"Kansas City's Fateful Suburban Experiment"

A data-driven look at Kansas City, Kansas's, growth over time, and its history of annexing land on its outskirts helps make clear the magnitude of the transformation that this city, and so many others, underwent. It is a transformation whose painful consequences haunt us today.

"Dispatches from Spokane: Living a Soft Default"

Spokane, Washington, provides a case study in the slow, painful decline that happens when we go all-in on the suburban experiment.

"Cobb County: Addicted to Growth"

Cobb County, Georgia, is a classic example of a region totally invested in the Growth Ponzi Scheme, with devastating results. This five-part series tells the whole story.

"A Texas-Sized Pavement Problem"

Collin County, Texas, illustrates what happens when roads expansion happens unchecked, with no plan to pay for it.

"Still Pursuing Classic Approaches. Still Going Nowhere."

Brainerd and Baxter, Minnesota, are two cities offering an illuminating comparison in the difference between the traditional and suburban development models.

"Who's Subsidizing Who?"

Strong Towns member and elected official Anthony Kalvans took an in-depth look at the tax value per acre in his town of San Miguel, California. This research helped him to see that the suburban style developments in his community were costing far more than they were contributing to the city budget, and he shared this crucial information with fellow San Miguel leaders.

"No Manifest Destiny: Doing the Math on Urban Growth Boundaries"

Cities aren’t exempt from the iron laws of accounting: if you’re spending more than you make, eventually you’ll be underwater.