Strong Towns South Milwaukee

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Strong Towns South Milwaukee

We are a group of South Milwaukee citizens who advocate for our city to be safe, livable, financially strong, resilient, and inviting.

06/23/2026

The relationship between vehicle speed and pedestrian survival is one of the most well-established findings in traffic safety research, and it is a key reason communities across the globe are adopting lower neighborhood speeds alongside safer street design.

Would you support a 25/20 approach in South Milwaukee: 25 mph on arterials and 20 mph on local streets?

06/22/2026

Tomorrow night, the South Milwaukee Common Council will consider entering into a contract with Tracy Cross & Associates to complete a city-wide comprehensive housing study.

We applaud the City of South Milwaukee and our economic development team for taking this step and, just as importantly, for beginning this conversation years ago.

Last year, South Milwaukee adopted important updates to its zoning code, ending single-family exclusive zoning and allowing a wider range of housing options throughout the city. That decision recognized an important truth: single-family homes may be a wonderful part of our community, but they are not the only way to build a strong one.

A home is the most important piece of infrastructure in a person's life.

Without stable housing, everything else becomes harder. Health outcomes decline. Children's school performance suffers. Employment becomes more precarious. Mental health deteriorates. Stable housing is not a luxury. It is the foundation that allows people, families, and communities to thrive.

Yet across the country, we are facing a housing shortage decades in the making. Restrictive zoning, rising construction costs, and an overreliance on a single housing type have left too many communities with too few homes and too few choices. The result is simple: when homes are scarce, prices rise, and more people struggle to find a place they can afford.

South Milwaukee is not immune to these challenges. Our population has slowly declined, yet demand for housing is projected to exceed supply unless we make room for more neighbors and more housing choices.

The encouraging news is that we have options.

Former industrial sites ready for redevelopment. Accessory dwelling units. Duplexes. Cottage homes. Small apartment buildings. Vacant lots that can now be built through zoning changes. Thoughtful infill development that makes use of existing infrastructure while preserving the character of our neighborhoods.

This is not about growth for growth's sake. It is about creating opportunities for longtime residents to age in place, for young adults to stay in the community where they grew up, and for new families to put down roots here.

More homes mean more choices. More choices mean greater affordability. And greater affordability means more people have the stability they need to build healthy, connected, and prosperous lives.

Strong Towns has long argued that resilient communities are built incrementally, with a variety of housing options that serve people at every stage of life. South Milwaukee is already moving in that direction.

A housing study will not answer every question. But good decisions begin with good information. And if we want a financially strong, welcoming, and resilient South Milwaukee for generations to come, understanding our housing needs, opportunities, and challenges is an excellent place to start.

06/21/2026

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, grandpas, stepdads, and father figures in South Milwaukee!

We spend so much of fatherhood trying to keep our kids safe. We buckle car seats, hold little hands crossing the street, and worry every time they head out on their own.

But one of the most important choices we also make is one of the simplest: how we drive.

We like to think we’re in complete control behind the wheel. But, the truth is, our choices ripple far beyond our own vehicle. A moment of distraction, a little too much speed, or an impatient decision can change lives forever.

Our kids are always watching. Let them see that strength is patience. That driving a little slower means compassion. That being a good man means caring for the people we may never meet but who share our streets, sidewalks, and neighborhoods.

This Father’s Day, may we all remember: one of the greatest gifts we can give our families is coming home safely and helping others do the same.

06/19/2026

Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom. It is also a day to tell the truth about our history.

Within living memory, South Milwaukee was a sundown town. Black workers could find employment at factories like Bucyrus-Erie, but many understood they were not welcome to live here. Some longtime residents recall that Black employees were limited to first shift and expected to leave town by dusk. Racial covenants restricting who could purchase homes remained a very real part of South Milwaukee housing transactions into the 1970s.

In November 1970, the oft-quoted Time Magazine article, "Life Inside a Worker's Idyl," painted a stark picture of our city:

"Although a handful of blacks work in the town's busy factories, none dare to live in the town. Residents are not particularly sympathetic to blacks."

That was not hundreds of years ago. That was 55 years ago. People who lived through that era are still with us today.

But we all know, the effects of exclusion do not disappear overnight. Federal redlining maps, discriminatory lending practices, racial covenants, and local attitudes shaped who could buy a home, build wealth, and put down roots. Today, Black residents make up just 3.6% of South Milwaukee's population. History is not the only reason, but it is part of the story.

At Strong Towns South Milwaukee, we believe strong communities are open communities. A city becomes stronger when more people can afford to live here, start a business here, walk safely to school, bike to the lakefront, ride transit to work, and age in place near family and friends.

That is why we support housing choices like accessory dwelling units, duplexes, and missing middle housing. It is why we advocate for safer streets on Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago Avenue, and throughout our neighborhoods. It is why we build bus benches, support transit, and push for small, incremental investments that make South Milwaukee more welcoming and more connected.

Strong towns are built by creating opportunities for people to belong. They are not built through exclusion.

Juneteenth reminds us that freedom is more than the absence of legal barriers. It is the presence of opportunity. It is the ability to choose where you live, to move safely through your community, to build a future for your family, and to know that you are welcome.

As we celebrate Juneteenth, we can also commit ourselves to building a South Milwaukee that is safer, more livable, financially strong, resilient, and inviting to everyone who wants to call it home.

06/18/2026

“It’s work to drive. Why drive to work?”

A marketing slogan from the 1950s and honestly, maybe one of the region’s most timeless pieces of advice.

On opening day of Summerfest, skip the traffic, skip the parking hunt, and let Milwaukee County Transit System do the driving. From South Milwaukee, you can get to within a few blocks of the gates for just $2.75 each way, with buses arriving every 30 minutes or less.

Spend your money on concert merch not parking lots. Don’t be the traffic everyone loathes.

06/17/2026

For nearly 70 years, the City of South Milwaukee's zoning code told us there was only one right way to build a neighborhood:

One house. One family. One large lot.

That meant no backyard cottage for Grandma. No garage apartment for an adult child just getting started. No small home for extended family. The kinds of homes that helped generations of families stay close became illegal in much of America—including here.

But that is changing.

As part of South Milwaukee's zoning rewrite, most single-family exclusive zoning has been eliminated, opening the door to more housing choices that fit naturally into existing neighborhoods—including Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs.

ADUs are small, independent homes located on the same lot as an existing house. They can provide:

• A place for aging parents to remain close while maintaining independence.
• A starter home for adult children hoping to stay in the community they love.
• Rental income that helps homeowners remain financially secure.
• More homes, more neighbors, and a stronger local tax base—all without sprawling outward or changing the character of our neighborhoods.

This isn't a radical new idea. It's a return to the way strong towns have always grown: incrementally, one family and one small investment at a time.

For decades, we planned our neighborhoods as if families would never change.

Now, South Milwaukee is choosing something better: neighborhoods that evolve, families that stay connected, and housing that works for real life.

Moving forward by rediscovering the past.

What could adding an ADU to your home mean for your family?

06/16/2026

Children are almost entirely excluded from transportation decision-making, which is overwhelmingly shaped around the needs, abilities, and preferences of adults.

Kids aren't urban planners—but neither are most adults. Yet adults routinely shape how everyone gets around, often prioritizing fast, convenient driving at the expense of children, older adults, people with disabilities, and anyone who doesn't travel by car.

— from “Life After Cars” by Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon and Aaron Naparstek

06/15/2026

Housing affordability 🤝 taxpayer savings

06/14/2026

There are so many reasons to love Milwaukee County Transit System — the fact that it saves everyone money is one of them.

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South Milwaukee, WI

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http://southmilwaukeeblog.com/

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