(Charles Marohn | Photo courtesy of Charles Marohn)
Local Group Hosts Charles Marohn of Strong Towns, November 8 at The Tower Theatre
Nonprofit organization Building a Better Bend, along with presenting sponsor, the Bend Chamber, recently announced it will be hosting Strong Towns founder and president, Charles Marohn, in Bend next month. In this book tour presentation scheduled for Monday, November 8, 7pm at the Tower Theatre, Marohn lifts the curtain on America’s transportation system, as detailed in his newest book, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer.
In this compelling lecture, Marohn demonstrates how the values of engineers and other transportation professionals are applied in the design process, and how those priorities differ from the values of the general public. By showing how transportation investments are a means to an end and not an end unto themselves, Marohn reveals how the standard approach to issues like fighting congestion, addressing speeding, and designing intersections only makes transportation problems worse, at great cost in terms of both safety and resources. By contrast, the Strong Towns approach to transportation focuses on bottom-up techniques for spending less and getting higher returns, all while improving quality of life for residents of a community.
Charles Marohn, known as “Chuck” to friends and colleagues, is a professional engineer and a land use planner with decades of experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of Minnesota.
Marohn is the author of Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity (Wiley, 2019). He hosts the Strong Towns Podcast and is a primary writer for Strong Towns’ web content. He has presented Strong Towns concepts in hundreds of cities and towns across North America. Planetizen named him one of the 10 Most Influential Urbanists of all time. His latest book, titled Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town, was released in September.
Please note: The Tower Theatre requires proof of full vaccination for entry to all events. Those not fully vaccinated ages 12 and up must show proof of a negative result from an approved COVID test taken within 72 hours of the event. “Fully vaccinated” means receiving the final vaccination dose of Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson at least 14 days before the event date. All patrons need to provide this information as a condition of entry. Based on Oregon mandates, mask wearing is also required inside the venue by everyone five and up, regardless of vaccination status. For more information, visit the Tower Theatre website.
About Building a Better Bend
For more than 15 years, Building a Better Bend has been bringing an annual lecture series to Central Oregon. We host expert speakers who share their experiences with the public and professionals in our community about ways to have a positive impact on the quality of development and growth in our region.
The lecture is scheduled for Monday, November 8 at 7pm at the Tower Theatre. The event is free to the public, but registration is required. Register at brownpapertickets.com/event/5273893.