How can Easton weather shaky economic times? And how can the city do so without harming itself in the long run?

A public forum next month at Lafayette College will try to tackle those questions.

On Jan. 8, the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership will host a Curbside Chat with Strong Towns, a non-profit organization from Minnesota that's holding similar events around Pennsylvania.

"The Curbside Chat program covers the causes and impacts of the current economic crisis, examines case studies on the finances of America's development pattern, reviews "dead ideas" of the suburban era we need to shed and proposes strategies (we call them "rational responses") for adjusting to the new realities we face," Strong Towns said in a news release.

The talk is scheduled for room 224 of the college's Oechsle Hall at 6 p.m. To RSVP, e-mail Dennis Lieb at dlieb@caclv.org.