Human Scaled

Cities built for people, one block at a time.

Human Scaled connects neighbors with the groups, tools and ideas that make towns walkable, beautiful and financially strong. You don't need a planning degree. You need a place to start.

¼ mile  ≈  a 5 minute walk. The size of a good neighborhood.

Our mission

Help everyday people change the places they love.

For about seventy years, most American places have been designed around the car. Wide roads, big parking lots and strict zoning made it hard to walk to a grocery store, hard to build a small home, and hard for towns to pay their bills.

The good news is that people all over the country are already fixing this. Organizations exist to teach you, train you, and stand beside you at the city council meeting. Most people just don't know where to find them.

Human Scaled is a hub and gateway to urbanism resources in one place, to educate and create a pathway to future impact.

Get involved

How to change your block

Three steps, from noticing to doing. None of the first steps cost money, and you can start this week.

1

Learn the patterns

Start noticing why some streets feel good and others don't.

  • Walk your street

    Take a slow walk and note where you feel comfortable. Is there shade, a place to sit, somewhere to go?

  • Learn the words planners use

    Terms like street wall, missing middle and road diet help you follow and join the conversation.

    Open the vocabulary →
  • Study a place that got it right

    See how other towns fixed the same problems your street has.

    Explore places →
2

Find your people

Change happens faster when a few neighbors show up together.

  • Invite two neighbors

    Share one video or article and talk it over coffee. Every local movement started this way.

  • Attend one public meeting

    Planning commission and city council agendas are public. Listening once shows you how decisions get made.

  • Join a local group

    Find a Strong Towns conversation, a CNU chapter or a walking group near you.

    Groups to join →
3

Change one block

Small, visible wins add up to a better town.

  • Read your zoning map

    Find out what is legal to build on your own lot. Most people are surprised by what is not allowed.

  • Test a better street

    Borrow a Better Block idea: add chairs, planters or a painted crosswalk for a weekend and show what is possible.

    Tools to build with →
  • Propose one fix

    Call or meet with your city council member or local representative and ask for one specific change, like fewer parking rules, a street tree program or more kinds of homes. Bring a photo or an example from another town.

Resources

Organizations ready to help you

Groups that teach, organize and build better places. Tap one to see how to get involved.

See it built

Good places already exist. Go visit one.

Our Places catalog collects American neighborhoods, redevelopments and main streets that get human scale right, from the Cotton District in Starkville to the squares of Savannah.

Browse the Places catalog →

Follow along

Short videos on urban design and planning

Each video explains one idea in one to two minutes, from bike lanes and missing middle housing to terminated vistas, zoning codes and green roofs.

Contact

Say hello

Know a great place we should add to the catalog? Run an organization that belongs on our resource list? Want help getting started in your town? Send us a note.

Email us

info@humanscaled.org

Write an email
 

Ways to get involved