Strong Towns
Shares rank 11 of 15 online magazines by recommenders
Recommended for accessible arguments that towns should be built to look beyond cars and stay financially sustainable. Critics say its analysis is motivated and pushes a fixed vision.
Recommended for accessible arguments that towns should be built to look beyond cars and stay financially sustainable. Critics say its analysis is motivated and pushes a fixed vision.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 73%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Compelling critique of car-centric planning
“I think strongtowns were very good advocates of what places in America could like if you look beyond cars.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “The Future of Everything Is Lies, I Guess: Where Do We Go from Here?” “I find the arguments of Strong Towns and Not Just Bikes quite compelling”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “The United States needs fewer bus stops” Accessible reading recommended for officials
“There's plenty of material there that targets a popular audience that covers this subject.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “Silicon Valley's "Pronatalists" Killed WFH. The Strait of Hormuz Brought It Back” “should be prerequisite reading for any council member, mayor, or board member”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Wisconsin communities signed secrecy deals for billion-dollar data centers” Pointed to as a go-to resource
“I want to step in here and point to Strong Towns.”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Wisconsin communities signed secrecy deals for billion-dollar data centers” “See Strong Towns the book.”
Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “The American Religion of Self-Storage Facilities”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Seen as motivated or biased
“they seem to clearly be pushing for a specific vision regardless of facts”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Why isn't LA repaving streets?” “Strongtowns seems a bit motivated in their analysis, to put it mildly.”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Why isn't LA repaving streets?” “strong towns is not honest about it though”
Comment from 24 Nov 2025 in “Iowa City made its buses free. Traffic cleared, and so did the air”
Other online magazines people recommend
The four most recommended other online magazines, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Economist | 87 | 75 | 54% | 12 | 10 yrs11 owners | — |
| New York Times subscription | 68 | 190 | 26% | 12 | 10 yrs8 owners | — |
| LWN.net subscription | 53 | 14 | 79% | 11 | 22 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Quanta Magazine | 36 | 20 | 64% | 11 | — | — |
| Strong TownsThis page | 8 | 3 | 73% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
12 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“See Strong Towns the book.”
“I think strongtowns were very good advocates of what places in America could like if you look beyond cars.”
“I recommend reading up on Strong Towns' growth ponzi scheme content.”
“There's plenty of material there that targets a popular audience that covers this subject.”
“I find the arguments of Strong Towns and Not Just Bikes quite compelling”
“strong towns spends a lot of words on stuff, but none of it on why someone who is happy with SFH cars lifestyle do”
“they seem to clearly be pushing for a specific vision regardless of facts”
“Strongtowns seems a bit motivated in their analysis, to put it mildly.”
“I have been a Strong Towns follower/member for about 6 years”
“I want to step in here and point to Strong Towns.”
“should be prerequisite reading for any council member, mayor, or board member”
“strong towns is not honest about it though”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.