Some of you may know this already, but I wanted to extend a formal invitation.
I am organizing a speaker series via the Home Builders Association this year, and the first event features one of my heroes, Chuck Marohn, the founder of Strong Towns as the keynote speaker. This will be a breakfast and presentation on March 30th at Brier Creek Country Club. The venue was chosen as a central point for the Triangle, and with tongue-in-cheek irony.
We are currently looking for sponsor organizations that would like to align with the HBA on this mission to bring the ST message to the Triangle. If your firm, or someone you know is interested, please reach out to me: evan@bosthomes.com
Saw this was happening and didn’t realize you were working behind the scenes on it! I definitely hope to go if I’m able to escape the office for a bit.
Thanks Christopher, it’s been an interesting planning process but ultimately I’m super excited about bringing Chuck here to speak.
I should note, there will be a walking tour the night before the event with Chuck most likely in Durham to look first hand at auto-centric development and how it destroys community and neighborhood cohesion, financial productivity.
This will be available for sponsors to attend, and will be a casual session with Chuck and other sponsors.
I totally applaud that you are organizing this, but it’s not lost on me that this is being held in an auto-centric development itself. You hardly need to go elsewhere for the tour.
We meet tomorrow as a committee to finalize the walking tour. We are considering Northgate Mall in Durham and the adjacent Trinity Park (pre WW2) neighborhood. There is an interesting pocket neighborhood of ~2k sf, 2 BR SFHs with a shared drive, replacing 1 large lot SFH. This development was allowed via new zoning rules in Durham, but NCDOT is still not happy with the driveway entrance being so close to a state Rd. Intersection. Chuck will have a good analysis of that project, and rip apart Northgate Mall.
Charles Marohn, the founder of Strong Towns and author of Confessions of a Recovering Engineer and Strong Towns: A Bottom Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity.
I think a lot of people know about Strong Towns, but haven’t read his books or heard him speak. Some of his insights are mind blowing to me.
1 Week from Tomorrow!!
Please Join if you are interested and able!
We have over 150 registrants including council members from Raleigh, Pittsboro, Chapel Hill, and Durham!
The presentation was gut-wrenching, inspiring, dreadful, and hopeful all at the same time.
Jane Harrison and Christina Jones were in attendance. Mary Ann Baldwin had to regretfully stay back this morning due to a last minute briefing with the police chief. Jonathan Melton I don’t believe was there, but MAB and JM Don’t really need convincing.
There were electeds from many other municipalities and counties in the area, including the mayor of Pittsboro, two council members from Durham, two planners from Morrisville, Orange county commissioner, Chapel Hill council member, and a slew of engineers, attorneys, architects, builders, developers, and other professions.
It was a huge success, and we look forward to bringing another speaker to the area August 3rd
