Strong Towns Athens, one of the several chapters of the nonprofit member-powered movement, calls residents to action.
Strong Towns’ mission is for every neighborhood to “pursue growth, development and prosperity.”
Strong Towns’ headquarters is in Brainerd, Minnesota, and had $943,030 in assets at the end of 2022. Strong Towns made $1.24 million in revenue in the same year, with $881,837 from contributions and grants.
Strong Towns Athens has five leaders: Rob Delach, Stephanie Hunter, Gracie Vaughn, Andrew Guidarelli and George Turner.
Delach, who formed Strong Towns Athens alongside the other four, said he started Curbside Conversation, a local organization discussing zoning proposals, in 2019.
“We would have a city planner come in and talk to us about what the proposal was and why it was a good idea,” Delach said. “We then had a discussion about it … then COVID hit. It started up again, but with lower turnouts.”
Delach said members expressed their desire for hands-on work during a Curbside Conversation meeting, introducing Strong Town Athens.
“They said, ‘We want to get Strong Towns going, not as a conversation group … but a group that actually does stuff,’” he said. “So that is why we restarted (Curbside Conversation) with a new name: Strong Towns Athens.”
The hands-on projects in question were started by Ohio University’s Urban Planning Student Association. Hunter, an Athens native and graduate student at The Ohio State University, was first introduced to the projects by Turner, whom she met through the Pedestrian Accessibility and Bicycle Task Force, which promotes walking and biking as part of Athens’ transportation system, and advocates for “awareness of traffic, pedestrian, bicycle and personal mobility device safety and accessibility.”
“(Turner) approached me about making some sort of group with the community that would put the work that those student planners had been working on into action,” Hunter said. “Their plans were going nowhere … and my suggestion was, ‘Why don’t we make it a Strong Towns chapter?’ … I was familiar with the organization.”
Turner, a senior studying urban planning and sustainability, and Vaughn, a junior along the same track, are current copresidents of Urban Planning. Vaughn, alongside Hunter, Delach and Turner, said starting the chapter was not challenging.
“It seemed like a relatively easy process to start a community group, so we just kind of dove into it,” Vaughn said. “I am a student leader, so most of my (role) is bringing students in to come help.”
Delach said about 12 people attended the first meeting Oct. 5, which discussed the chapter’s purpose and areas of focus.
“The first meeting was more focused on what is wrong,” Delach said. “Some of the people knew what Strong Towns was, but others did not … We’re looking for people who care about Athens and want to make it a better place. I mean, it is a great place already … but it can always be better. We are looking for people who have that mindset.”
Delach said the chapter also organized a work session, which was held two weeks later at Richland Avenue Park on Dairy Lane. He said 10 people attended, six of whom were OU students.
“The paths were overgrown, so we went in to do our work,” Delach said. “That was our first (time) actively trying to do something.”
There is no payment required to join Strong Towns Athens, and Delach said all are welcome. The national organization has more than 6,500 members and 50,000 subscribers.
“Strong Towns is basically just people coming in from that community and filling in the gaps that they see that might be lacking funding from the government or have a lack of resources,” Vaughn said.
Delach said the chapter uses the City Source App to flag down issues, including broken sidewalks, potholes, litter, graffiti and more.
“You can submit a photo … to the city and then it goes into a process where the city reviews it and assigns it to someone,” Delach said. “It's a good way to get something that needs fixing and get the city to pay attention.”
At the next meeting, held at 5 p.m. Dec. 7 at Big Run Kava Bar, Hunter said the chapter will discuss sidewalk restoration policies and regulations, so the members can better understand how to change them.
“If you do those small changes, they add up, and you can see a difference in your community, and hopefully that creates a ripple effect of people also following that,” Vaughn said.
Hunter said Strong Towns is apolitical, despite the political influence on policies, regulations and development.
“You have to know how to get that plan to align with broader community sentiment,” Hunter said. “It has to have political appeal to the powers that be … (and) we also have to get more people involved who might not have a lot of knowledge about issues, but are interested in them.”
Hunter also said Strong Towns has a special method of achieving goals and calling people to action.
“First step out your front door,” Hunter said. “Start walking around your neighborhood and look around and say, ‘What are people struggling with?’ It is like feeding yourself. You do it, and then it's lunchtime, and you do it again.”
