Kevin Shepherd

Prosperity doesnt come from endless new growth, it's cultivated. I help cities put Strong Towns principles into practice. @verdunity founder/CEO #GoCultivate

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

💯👇 the former is expensive to live in and maintain. The latter produces more tax base, more housing and mobility choices, and is more healthy and sustainable. We've got to make the shift.

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

Never forget, if you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan cities for people and places, you get people and places.

Plan for the city you want.

HT @Fred_Kent @PPS_Placemaking

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

@musharbash_b @VERDUNITY Always happy to support cities and local change agents looking to build places that are more financially productive, resilient, and equitable. #GoCultivate

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

WATCH & SHARE: We’d all be a lot more effective in explaining how badly we need less stupid transportation if we were even close to this funny. But it’s only funny because it’s true. Via @adamconover (this is why he’s in my “changing minds” starter pack)

[Safe Systems Civil Engineer @_Murphy_Dan]

People think engineers somehow decided to build wider and wider arterials and highways as if they thus create all the traffic. It is actually our bad planning made into law that limits multimodality by effectively mandating cars though low density and use separation by legal design.
Some states like MA are stepping in take back some control wrongfully given to locals. We have the power to change bad historical decisions and build much more multimodal places that rely much less on the automobile but the lack of demand caused by low density is at the very heart of the problem in many if not most places here.

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

@ChrisVannini And all those teams that lost would beat Indiana 9/10 times.

[Jeremy Glover @JGrantGlover]

With Milton barreling toward Tampa, I'm resharing this graphic I made after Helene.

Nowhere is safe from climate change, but there are many cities located in relatively resilient places with the existing infrastructure to accommodate a LOT more people than they currently do.

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

Enjoyed being a part of this and a few other events around DFW last week discussing housing challenges with @clmarohn. If you haven't read Chuck's book Escaping the Housing Trap yet, watch this presentation and then give it a read to fill in the details. Important stuff.

[Dallas Housing Coalition @dallashousingco]

We had a great time hearing from @clmarohn at last night's @StrongTowns: Escaping the Housing Trap event with @DallasHabitat, @VERDUNITY, and @options_restate! Thank you to all attendees - it was a tremendous turnout of over 100 people at @thewaxspace! You can go back and watch the livestream on our Instagram and Facebook pages, and we will also upload the full video to LinkedIn and YouTube shortly. Chuck's 3 recommendations he left us with were: code reforms, creating a network of small scale incremental developers, and localizing housing finance. Stay tuned! #DallasIsBigEnoughForEveryone #DallasHousingForAll

[Donald Shoup @DonaldShoup]

The Director of City Planning in Minneapolis said, "No single legislative action did more to contribute to housing creation than the elimination of parking minimums.”https://t.co/FF6nyxpGU8

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

When you think about it, can you really say this sounds wrong? On car culture, featuring @adamconover.

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

There is no such thing as unlimited growth. We have natural resource and fiscal constraints. Texas will either figure this out soon and adjust, or continue to put their head in the sand and watch the Texas Miracle implode when water, money for infrastructure, or both run out.

[WFAA @wfaa]

Texas Agriculture Commissioner sounds the alarm, says Texas is running out of water https://t.co/4PLbY2IfaW

[David Zipper @DavidZipper]

This is a huge step in the right direction — and long overdue.

The Federal Motor Safety Standards have real teeth. If this rule comes into effect, carmakers will finally have to address how car bloat endangers pedestrians.

https://t.co/LAApxzncaK

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

@clmarohn @StrongTowns Kudos Chuck. It's so cool to see the movement growing the way it is. But, and I know you know this, there's still so much education and change needed. Keep doing your thing.

[Charles Marohn @clmarohn]

What happens when you can't do the extreme building setbacks mandated by the fire code?

You get smaller vehicles.

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

"The streets of my hometown were basically designed to evacuate Downtown... Cars were going by so quickly it was hostile to pedestrians, you wouldn't want to walk on that sidewalk & by changing that we created a different, more vibrant downtown." @PeteButtigieg

📍South Bend, IN

[Beth Osborne @BethOsborneSGA]

"Kids aren’t dying because their parents were circling the block looking for parking, or they had to leave the house slightly earlier for art class. Those are inconveniences, not dangers. They die when drivers’ convenience is prioritized over their lives."
https://t.co/9svYTo6VZP

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

@carywesterbeck @aliciainedmonds @cityofedmonds @VERDUNITY @UrbanThree @carywesterbeck I'm going to be doing an extended session on our @VERDUNITY work at the Washington Planners Directors conference in Chelan on Sept 5. Not sure who's invited or how to register. Contact Anne Henning in Othello if you/others are interested. 👍

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

This is so important. If your community truly values safety of residents, then update design standards and fix your streets to have 9 or 10' lanes. And no, residents that choose to drive huge trucks and SUVs don't have the right to dominate this conversation.

[Andy Boenau @Boenau]

This will blow engineering minds:

"roads with 10-12-foot lanes at 30-35 mph speed limits have a significantly higher number of crashes compared to those with 9-foot lanes" @AmericanHealth

AASHTO Green Book allows 9-foot lanes.

[GFOA @GFOA]

The traditional budget process in many #localgov can take the form of an exercise in balancing revenues and expenses. During this new webinar on Aug. 29, speakers will help you come up with a plan for designing a better budget decision-making environment. https://t.co/0ueJYJS0JW

[Aaron Lubeck @aaron_lubeck]

URBANISM = Love thy neighbor.
SUBURBANISM = Fear thy neighbor.

[Kevin Shepherd @k_shepherd]

Well duh.. when you remove trees and shade structures in favor of more concrete for roads and parking, things get a little hotter. But hey, everybody's huge trucks and SUVs have awesome AC so we're good! 🙄

[WFAA @wfaa]

Studies show some neighborhoods in Dallas are 10 degrees higher than others because of the infrastructure and lack of greenery.

https://t.co/5zycUj9ELM