Some articles were appearing in the local media about the budget deliberations and some of the councillors were talking about shutting down a library branch at the most extreme and at the least extreme, cutting the library's budget. And I just looked at that and I thought, wait a minute. This is a city that is proposing to build a $30 million indoor sports facility. And it has to close the library branches.

- Cindy Long, Strong Towns member

Has your city ever proposed a development that you, despite having minimal knowledge of the subject, think misses a bigger issue in the community? You know the type. Maybe they’re considering subsidizing a new development on the edge of town while the streets and sidewalks in existing neighborhoods crumble. Or they propose another road widening project, since the last million-and-whatever infrastructure dollars definitely resolved that congestion. (Not.)

Strong Towns advocates—planners, elected officials, and concerned citizens alike—have recognized that the status quo cities have followed for decades rarely translates to financially stronger communities. And as the repercussions dig deeper into their daily life, these advocates have begun to act on their intuition, asking the hard questions about their cities’ financial resiliency.

Cindy Long—Strong Towns member out of Thunder Bay, Ontario—is one of those advocates. As the city discussed closing a library branch to help fund a proposed $30 million indoor sports facility, Cindy wondered if megaprojects like this contributed to the current state in Thunder Bay.

You have downtown full of boarded up storefronts; ever-rising property taxes forcing seniors to sell their homes; and continually unplowed sidewalks. Yet the city considers using its limited resources to fund the shiny and new—cutting an essential service to the community’s social fabric in the process.

Cindy shared her observations with the Strong Towns Facebook group, where she collected dozens of hard-earned insights from readers and members across North America who’ve faced similar challenges in their own communities.

Empowered by her new knowledge regarding her city’s budget, Cindy has since used these insights to ask her city council the hard questions about Thunder Bay’s financial situation, gradually shifting the narrative of success.

In this episode, Cindy discusses the proposed indoor stadium—and how she and her peers pitched a vision of financial resiliency to her councillors, including how she observed her city’s financial situation, how she asked the hard questions, and what a Strong Towns approach would look like in her community.

Show notes:

Have you made a small bet to address a struggle in your neighborhood? Share your story with the Strong Towns Community to inspire others to take action.