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The Truth about American Cities - Part 1 - Strong Towns [ST01]

Not Just Bikes · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Transit, cities & urban planningMacroeconomics & financial crises

What it is

The first video in Not Just Bikes' Strong Towns series explains the financial instability of North American cities, based on Strong Towns research. It argues that low-density suburban growth costs more to maintain than it brings in.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN people recommend it as the best introduction to why sprawl and car dependence are fiscally unsustainable, often pointing to the whole series.

  • 7 people recommended it
  • 7 different months
  • 2 strong recommendations
  • first 2021, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “I love this YouTube channel.”

    Series summarizing Strong Towns findings on suburbia

    acchow, 2022-09 · Strong recommendation · in “Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (But Finnish People Can)”

  2. “I think everyone should watch the Not Just Bikes YouTube channel especially their series on Strong Towns”

    Shows harm of parking mandates and car-centric planning

    iknownothow, 2024-05 · Strong recommendation · in “Parking reform legalized most of the new homes in Buffalo and Seattle (2023)”

  3. “most importantly his series on the US non profit organisation "Strong Towns"”

    Not Just Bikes series on Strong Towns and car dependence

    Improvotter, 2021-12 · Recommendation · in “Changes in Dutch streets throughout the years (photo album)”

  4. “A good introduction on that part is the strong towns playlist by the youtube channel Not Just Bikes”

    Introduction to why sprawl costs municipalities

    atoav, 2022-07 · Recommendation · in “Driverless robotaxi fleet paralyzed for hours in San Francisco”

  5. “Here is a good playlist that explains why this is the case”

    Explains why low-density infrastructure bankrupts cities

    xorfish, 2022-10 · Recommendation · in “Inflation is at a 40 year high. What can history teach us?”

  6. “Just watch this”

    Shows why bike-friendly cities work for Americans

    barrystaes, 2022-12 · Recommendation · in “People Hate the Idea of Car-Free Cities–Until They Live in One”

  7. “The whole series of videos from Strong Towns are good, you should take a look”

    Strong Towns series on suburban cost

    rglullis, 2025-09 · Recommendation · in “Why, as a responsible adult, SimCity 2000 hits differently”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: strong towns, suburban sprawl, car dependence, municipal finance, not just bikes

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