Resources

 Session One  - The Cost of Suburbia

• Introduction to Strong Towns & How Suburban Development Makes Cities Poorer (9 minutes)

• The Growth Ponzi Scheme & How Bankrupt Cities Stay Alive (16 minutes)

• We Are In A Housing Trap. Can We Escape? (20 mins)

 Session Two  - Streets and Roads

• What is a Stroad? (8 minutes)

• Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (18 minutes)

 Session Three  - What Makes a Strong Town?

• This is What It Takes To Be a Strong Town. Is Yours One? (4 minutes)

• Are Parking Lots Ruining Your City? (15 minutes)

• Our Cities are Broken - Now What? (3 minutes)

 General

• Alder District Maps - City of Madison

• Giving Public Comment - Madison is For People

• Joining Your Neighborhood Association - Madison is For People

• How to Use Legistar  - Madison is For People

• Open Data Portal - City of Madison

 Housing 

• Madison Housing Snapshot Report (2023) - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Report on Housing Supply and Affordability (2024) - Madison Housing Strategy Committee

• Regional Housing Strategy - Dane Country

• Modeling the True Cost of Developments (2015) - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Property Lookup - City of Madison, Dane County

 Finance 

• Madison Property Tax Value per Acre - Jim Kreft

• Madison Land Value Tax - Blake Wasung

• Budget - City of Madison

• Property Value + Taxes Over Time - Harald Klein

 Transportation 

• Complete Green Streets Guide (2022) - City of Madison

• Wisconsin Automobile Crash Map - Wisconsin Department of Transportation

• Parking Lot Map - Parking Reform Network

• State Smart Transportation Initiative - University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Travel Time Map - Close.City

• Bollard Placement Map - Billion Bollards Club. Search 'Madison, WI' in the search bar, then follow the site's instructions.

• High Injury Network - City of Madison

• Vision Zero Project - City of Madison

• Car Size Comparison - CarSized

 Land Use/Planning 

• Interactive Comprehensive Plan - City of Madison Planning Division

• Madison Zoning Code Ordinance - City of Madison

• Madison Park and Open Space Plan - City of Madison Parks Divison

Note: all links lead to the Madison Public Library reservation page.

Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity by Charles L. Marohn, Jr.

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

Happy City: Transforming Our Lives through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery

Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How To Fix It by M. Nolan Gray

Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar

Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis by Charles L. Marohn, Jr.

Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier by Edward L. Glaeser

Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time by Jeff Speck

How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality by Peter Moskowitz

Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution by Janette Sadik-Khan

The High Cost of Free Parking by Donald Shoup