The Strong Towns Podcast

How did we go from building strong, prosperous cities to weak, debt-ridden ones? In this episode, Chuck tracks the cultural and economic impacts of World War II on our development pattern. He explains what must change if we want to build strong cities again.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• This episode is a recording of a presentation Chuck gave in Denver. Click here to see some of the images Chuck references.
• Get the Finance Decoder.
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

Why are America’s streets so dangerous — and what can we do about it? In this episode, Chuck talks with Wes Marshall, author of “Killed by a Traffic Engineer” and professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. From the history of traffic engineering to the failures of Vision Zero, they explore how design decisions shape safety — and what it will take to build streets that protect everyone.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Look Both Ways with David & Wes (Podbean)

• Wes Marshall (site)

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

Chuck is joined by James Anderson, head of the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. Under his leadership, the program has helped thousands of cities worldwide embrace an innovative, people-based approach to local governance.

Today, Chuck and James discuss why local governments matter now more than ever. Then they explore ways that residents, advocates, and organizations can encourage city leaders to embrace innovation.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Bloomberg Philanthropies (site)

• Bloomberg Cities Network (site)

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

Chuck is joined by Quint Studer, the founder of the Center for Civic Engagement in Pensacola, Florida. They discuss Strong Towns’ involvement in Pensacola’s renewal and the Civic Leader Summit that will be held there in September.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Civic Leader Summit

• Quint Studer (site)

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

• Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.

No matter how easy we make it to build, the existing housing system is based on a financial model that cannot tolerate lower prices. If falling prices is the goal, then we need to build a system that can deliver on it. In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck explains how our current system prevents prices from falling and how we can build a better one.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Learn how to actually make housing affordable with the Housing-Ready Toolkit.

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

• Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.

In this special episode, Chuck is joined by Graham Campbell, director of Economics & Research for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. They discuss the true cost of infrastructure — and why both New Zealand and North America are facing the same financial and structural challenges.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

• Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.

In this episode, Chuck dives into the root causes of the housing crisis. Using clips from interviews with housing experts and reporters, he explores the popular theory that the housing crisis is caused by a lack of supply. He shows how this belief relates to the Strong Towns approach.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Learn how to unlock housing in your city: The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform

• Hear more from…

  • Cullum Clark

  • Conor Dougherty

  • Steve Nygren

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Chuck sits down with Ryan Johnson, the founder and visionary behind Culdesac Tempe, the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S. They discuss the realities of living in and developing a community like Culdesac, from transportation costs to working with local government. Ryan explains how they maintain walkability in an Arizona desert, how they successfully nurture small businesses, and how they encourage people to embrace co-ownership of the community.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Learn more about Culdesac.

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Serenbe is a unique community just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It’s based on the development pattern of traditional English villages, with walkable, mixed-use “hamlets” surrounded by nature. In today’s episode, Chuck sits down with Serenbe founder Steve Nygren to discuss the process of developing this kind of community, as well as Steve’s development philosophy of “radical common sense.”

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• “Start in Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where We Live With Radical Common Sense” by Steve Nygren

• Learn more about Serenbe.

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

A few weeks ago, the New York Times article "Why America Should Sprawl" went viral, sparking a national discussion about housing and development patterns.

In today’s episode, Chuck sits down with Conor Dougherty, the reporter behind the article, to discuss his perspective on housing in more depth.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Prefer to read or watch? We've got you covered. Click here for the transcript or here for the YouTube video.
  
  

• Learn how to beat the housing crisis the right way. Download The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform today!

• Read more:

  • “America Should Sprawl” by Conor Dougherty

  • “Golden Gates” by Conor Dougherty

  • “America Should Sprawl? Not If We Want Strong Towns” by Charles Marohn

  • “Escaping the Housing Trap” by Charles Marohn and Daniel Herriges

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)