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A review by stoicloofah
Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity by Charles L. Marohn Jr.
3.0
I listened to the audiobook, and I was very skeptical at the beginning. Marohn begins with some big ideas and analogies, and I just didn't believe it at all. However, once he pivoted into more specific points regarding American suburban development and actual city planning anecdotes, I think he found better footing.
Marohn borrows many ideas from Taleb's "Antifragile", which I read and quite enjoyed. However, I think he maybe leans on it too hard and would have made a stronger case just working from his original example.
Having grown up and lived in suburban North America my entire life, I can see how much of the criticism is fair even if I don't know much about the actual financial situation of the cities I have lived in. It's also hard to know if he's right that we will face a decline and reckoning over the next 30 years, or if life and development will fundamentally change.
Overall, I found the book quite thoughtful, and Marohn seems like a good guy trying to do the right thing.
Marohn borrows many ideas from Taleb's "Antifragile", which I read and quite enjoyed. However, I think he maybe leans on it too hard and would have made a stronger case just working from his original example.
Having grown up and lived in suburban North America my entire life, I can see how much of the criticism is fair even if I don't know much about the actual financial situation of the cities I have lived in. It's also hard to know if he's right that we will face a decline and reckoning over the next 30 years, or if life and development will fundamentally change.
Overall, I found the book quite thoughtful, and Marohn seems like a good guy trying to do the right thing.