A few months ago, Downtown Arlington Management Corporation partnered with UT Arlington's School of Urban and Public Affairs, in conjunction with: Verdunity, Gateway Planning, and CNU-NTX. Together we brought the nonprofit organization, Strong Towns, to give a Curbside Chat.

Strong Towns is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that helps America's towns achieve financial strength and resiliency.

Chuck Marohn, the founder of Strong Towns, is a Professional Engineer (PE) licensed in the State of Minnesota and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). He has a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute.

Yes, we know - that is a lot of titles. Marohn's planning and engineering expertise - and ability to say it in a way the average joe can understand - made us all a believer in the Strong Towns movement. 

So what is Strong Towns all about and how does this relate to Downtown Arlington?

The "Stroad"

A "stroad" is a street/road hybrid and Marohn likens it to a futon. A futon is neither a comfortable couch OR bed. We have our very own "stroad", right here in Downtown Arlington.

Abram Street

Marohn analyzes Downtown Arlington's "stroad" aka Abram Street. This is not a traffic issue, but rather a value-capture problem. If we are going to redesign Abram St., it needs to reflect our most important value: safety. The future of UT Arlington WILL be impacted by Abram St. Marohn even says, "you'll screw it up for a generation, if you put a stroad back in"

Watch the rest of the Strong Towns videos on placemaking, economics and safety by clicking here.