ASTA | Form Based Codes, Overruling Local Gov'ts, Culdesac, Developers (featuring Edward Erfurt)

🔍 Key Topics Covered:

• Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT): Understanding the re-centralization of planning powers and how it impacts municipal authority.

• Form-Based Codes: How towns like Ranson, WV, have succeeded—and struggled—with alternative development codes.

• Subsidiarity and Local Action: Why Strong Towns champions decision-making at the local level, and how subsidiarity applies when higher levels of government intervene.

• Defining Developers: Exploring Strong Towns' nuanced view on developers—distinguishing between those exploiting communities and those contributing to lasting prosperity.

• The Culdesac Case Study: Debate around Culdesac Tempe and whether “car-free” automatically means “community-friendly.”

🔗 Resources & Articles Shared in the Chat:

• Subsidiarity and Local Decision-Making
   Explains the principle of subsidiarity, which advocates for decisions to be made at the most local level possible, and how this principle guides Strong Towns' approach to governance and reform.

• A Deep Dive on Local Decision-Making
   Examines the erosion of local control in urban planning and the need to restore meaningful authority to communities for better long-term outcomes.

• Form-Based Code in Practice: Ramen Development
   A reflective piece on the unintended consequences of adopting form-based code in Ranson, WV, offering lessons on implementation and community impact.

• 6 Reasons Your City Needs a Form-Based Code
   Lays out a compelling case for form-based code as a more flexible, people-centered alternative to conventional zoning practices.

• Savor Your Small Parcels
   Argues that small parcels of land offer unique opportunities for incremental, resilient development—and that cities should actively protect and encourage them.

• Background Buildings
   Encourages the development of modest, “background” buildings that form the essential fabric of vibrant, productive neighborhoods.

• There Are 3 Kinds of Developers
   Clarifies the spectrum of developer types, from extractive to collaborative, helping communities better align with partners who share their values.

• Developer Tag on Strong Towns Blog
   A curated archive of all Strong Towns articles tagged with “developer,” offering a broad look at how citizens and professionals engage with development.

• How to Encourage Small-Scale Developers
   A practical guide for communities seeking to cultivate local, small-scale developers who build wealth and stability from the bottom up.

• “That Guy” Developer Archetype
   Satirizes the archetype of the slick, detached developer who maximizes profit at the expense of place—while offering insight into how to avoid enabling him.

• Culdesac: A Car-Free Paradise or Part of the Problem?
   Analyzes the Culdesac Tempe development to question whether car-free design alone is enough to build financially strong and socially connected communities.

• Resident Reflections on Culdesac (via Dwell)
   A resident's honest account of life in Culdesac Tempe, offering a ground-level view that complements and challenges the development’s marketing.

• Winnipeg and the Cost of Growth
   Dissects how growth strategies that ignore long-term fiscal productivity can bankrupt cities, with Winnipeg serving as a cautionary example.