The Strong Towns Podcast

A podcast preview of the upcoming week including introducing Jason Schaefer, the new Member Support Specialist at Strong Towns, a trip to Lafayette with Joe Minicozzi, a debate with Cato fellow Randal O'Toole and a success story in Waco.

The global climate is a complex system. Economic markets are a complex system. Why do we react so differently to these different forms of complexity and what can we learn from those reactions?

Chuck talks about the organization behind the Strong Towns movement, an update to their strategic plan based on what has been learned and a powerful theory of change.

Aaron Brown -- author, college instructor and radio producer from Minnesota's iron range -- joins the podcast to talk about the history of the Iron Range, economic development issues and cultural obstacles to change. You can get Aaron's book, Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range, and read his regular blog at his site, MinnesotaBrown.com.

Chuck reviews three different incidents involving children killed by automobiles and asks: Who are really the ones showing casual indifference here? 

Tony Dutzik, Senior Policy Analyst with Frontier Group, joins the podcast to talk about a new report he co-authored: Who Pays for Roads? How the "Users Pay" Myt Gets in the Way of Solving America's Transportation Problems.

A ruling last week in U.S. District Court has potentially profound implications for road widening projects. This podcast features an interview with Steve Hiniker, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, the plaintiff that prevailed in a recent lawsuit against the USDOT, WisDOT and others. We also speak with an appellate attorney, Mahesha Subbaraman, about details in the ruling and potential subsequent moves.

Jonathan Coppage and Benjamin Schwarz of the American Conservative talk about their publication, how they got involved in New Urbanism and why conservatives are embracing New Urbanist approaches.

Robin Bergstrom of CNU New England talks about how she became involved in CNU, how she came to be the Executive Director of CNU NE and the unique challenges of New Urbanism in the Northeast.