Led by Strong Towns member Jordan Deffenbaugh, Strong Towns - Sioux Falls made an immediate impact on Sioux Falls—throwing a community potluck to discover the ideas residents had for stronger Sioux Falls.

(We interviewed Jordan last year to learn more about the potluck and how residents responded.)

Below, Jordan shares with why he started Strong Towns - Sioux Falls and how he hopes the Local Conversation will impact Sioux Falls.

What inspired you to start Strong Towns: Sioux Falls?

In March of last year, Chuck Marohn came to Sioux Falls to speak about his organization, Strong Towns. I had been following the blog for a few years, so I was aware of the general idea behind the motivations of this organization. Having Chuck break down his own personal experience in making his home of Brainerd, Minnesota, a stronger community struck home with my own journey. I needed to take action. The first step was to get Strong Towns: Sioux Falls going.

How have you fostered the Strong Towns conversation in Sioux Falls?

Since last year, our group has been getting together weekly to talk about city development. We have held potlucks, discussions, forums, and other events to spark action in our community. We started a Facebook group with regular postings everyday, from different community members all with their own perspectives and interests.

Last week, I turned a friend’s boulevard from a lawn to a flower-producing garden. Just before writing this post, I was in a coffee meeting discussing all the low-hanging fruit that existed in downtown and what bottom-up actions could be taken in the next year.

What do you hope to achieve through Strong Towns - Sioux Falls?

Strong Towns - Sioux Falls is spurring a conversation—and from there, incremental action. Not just in the Sioux Falls community, but in my own personal journey. My purpose in all of this is getting the conversations started.

Stronger Denton

Sometimes you need a disagreement locally to inspire a new group of like-minded individuals. That’s what happened in Denton, Texas, as the City of Denton began to finalize its new development code.

The code included a provision that any Strong Towns advocate would protest: ban duplexes in the city’s core neighborhoods. So the group decided to gather and use Strong Towns concepts to protest to the provision. (They even wrote a critique of the provision on the Strong Towns site.)

While the provision passed, Stronger Denton has used the momentum to tackle new challenges in creating a more financially resilient Denton.