The Strong Towns Podcast

Chuck has been meeting with local leaders across the country for the last several months in closed door conversations. One question he often asks these elected officials and city staff is "What do you wish people understood better about your job?" He consistently receives a very similar set of answers: "We wish the public understood how difficult this job is." "We wish people grasped how limited o...

Rachel's guest this week is Chuck Marohn, and he recaps a recent series of events in Akron, Ohio as well as his article for today, The Real Reason Your Local Mall is Failing . Mentioned in this podcast: The Real Reason Your Local Mall is Failing Join us for upcoming public events in West Grove, PA , Wichita, KS , and Chattanooga, TN . Strong Towns members are invited to attend our April 30 Q&A Web...

This week's guest is Strong Towns Development Director, Bo Wright, who discusses the organization's new partnership in Akron, Ohio, which will spur a yearlong conversation on how to make the city a strong town, supported by the Knight Foundation. Bo talks about what we hope to accomplish this year in Akron and why it matters to everyone — not just Akron residents. Contact quednau@strongtowns.org i...

Who is against you? That's a question Chuck Marohn is often asked when he presents Strong Towns ideas at events and in conversations. One group in particular is a growing voice in opposition to Strong Towns. These are the folks who say: "We really like Strong Towns. We like your ideas... But don't you see that the problems you're discussing are so big and intertwined with so many other challenges...

Rachel's guest this week is Strong Towns member and contributor, Arian Horbovetz, who blogs at The Urban Phoenix and lives in Rochester, New York. He discusses the universal challenges that Rust Belt towns deal with, his optimistic yet pragmatic view on urban revitalization, and his sociologist's perspective on these trends. Mentioned in this podcast: TheUrbanPhoenix.com The Big Urban Mistake: Bui...

Every month, we host Ask Strong Towns to give you a chance to ask your burning questions about our vision for change, and how the Strong Towns approach might apply in your unique place — and give us a chance to share our answers with the world, so it might help other  Strong Citizens . The live Ask Strong Towns webcast is open to all  Strong Towns members , but afterward, we share the audio on our...

Rachel's guest this week is Chuck Marohn who recaps a recent trip to Massachusetts and discusses  his article today on autonomous vehicles . MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: April 3 event in Colorado Springs, CO Automated vehicles will makes our streets worse  by Chuck Marohn The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South  by Radley Balko & Tucker Carrington If...

A couple weeks ago, Chuck Marohn shared an image on Facebook that sparked a contentious conversation. It was an illustration of a potential retrofit project, turning a suburban big box site into a slightly denser — but still quite auto-oriented — development. Comments rained in from other Strong Towns advocates, many in agreement, others pushing back. Then the developer who originally posted the i...

Today we're sharing the audio from the Championship Webcast in our Strongest Town Contest , hosted by Rachel Quednau and Kea Wilson. We're down to the final two communities: Muskegon, MI and Kent, OH. Visit this page to vote for whichever you think is the strongest after listening to the podcast: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/3/21/watch-and-vote-in-the-strongest-town-contest-championshi...

Welcome to the third round of our annual  Strongest Town Competition ! 4 towns are facing off right now and 2 will advance to the championship based on your votes. We invite you to listen to the podcast interviews that representatives from each conducted with Strong Towns staff to discuss their economic strength and resilience. Visit this page to vote: http://strongtowns.org/journal/2018/3/20/roun...

Welcome to the third round of our annual  Strongest Town Competition ! 4 towns are facing off right now and 2 will advance to the championship based on your votes. We invite you to listen to the podcast interviews that representatives from each conducted with Strong Towns staff to discuss their economic strength and resilience. Visit this page to vote: http://strongtowns.org/journal/2018/3/20/roun...

Welcome to the third round of our annual Strongest Town Competition ! 4 towns are facing off right now and 2 will advance to the championship based on your votes. We invite you to listen to the podcast interviews that representatives from each conducted with Strong Towns staff to discuss their economic strength and resilience. Visit this page to vote: http://strongtowns.org/journal/2018/3/20/round...

Welcome to the third round of our annual  Strongest Town Competition ! 4 towns are facing off right now and 2 will advance to the championship based on your votes. We invite you to listen to the podcast interviews that representatives from each conducted with Strong Towns staff to discuss their economic strength and resilience. Visit this page to vote: http://strongtowns.org/journal/2018/3/20/roun...

In this episode, Chuck Marohn discusses the dynamics of school funding and facilities in his community. While some schools are well cared for and receive regular improvements, a historic neighborhood school has been slated for demolition. One of the reasons? Because the school next door wants an additional parking lot. Why do our communities make these decisions? How do we fight back while balanci...

Rachel's guest on this week's episode is Strong Towns Director of Community Engagement, Kea Wilson. She talks about some recent articles she's written on safe streets issues in her city of St. Louis, MO. Kea and Rachel also discuss the current standings in the Strongest Town Contest. Round 2 kicks off tomorrow so don't forget to tune in and vote . Mentioned in this Episode When your city hates you...

Chuck Marohn returns to the Week Ahead podcast to report on recent events in Bismarck, North Dakota; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Thomasville, Georgia. Then he and Rachel dish about the 16 towns selected for the  2018 Strongest Town Contest . See the final bracket, read each town's submission and cast your votes  here . MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: Sioux Falls, SD presentation on March 5 Fishers, I...

This week's guest is Sarah Kobos, a Strong Towns member and contributor who lives in Tulsa, OK. She talks about how she became an "accidental urbanist" and started getting involved with city planning in her community. She also discusses the slow but rewarding process of rehabbing a rental property. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: "Is zoning overlay the magic wand you've been looking for?"  by Sarah Kob...

Jeff Speck is a nationally-recognized expert on building walk-friendly, people-oriented places. His book, Walkable City: How Downtown can Save America, One Step at a Time , is beloved by planners, leaders and residents of cities big and small; and his planning firm, Speck & Associates , works in communities across the country. We recently invited Jeff onto our webcast to chat with Chuck Marohn abo...

Rachel invites Strong Towns member and contributor Daniel Herriges onto the podcast to discuss his ongoing series about gentrification and why this issue has so firmly divided two groups of people who could actually gain a lot from working together. Rachel also shares an important reminder: Nominations for the Strongest Town Contest are due February 25.  Apply today! Mentioned in this podcast: By...

One year ago, a woman in suburban Oregon crossed the street while under the influence of alcohol and was struck by a driver and killed. Her husband's lawyer couldn't find an engineer in his state who was willing to stand up to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and speak out about the dangerously designed street that played a part in this woman's death. So the lawyer called Chuck Marohn, Presi...

Richard Florida , author, editor and Professor at the University of Toronto, is part of a growing chorus of prominent thinkers across the country who are speaking out against the race to the bottom that Amazon's search for a second headquarters has induced. Strong Towns is fully in agreement that cities should compete on their merits and strengths, not on the amount of local tax dollars they're wi...

In this episode with featured guest, Chuck Marohn, Chuck discusses his complicated relationship with Kansas City, MO culminating in a recent successful event there. Chuck also introduces the newest member of his family, Gryffindor the puppy! And Rachel introduces the 3rd annual Strongest Town Contest — with some new twists. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE STROADing in Kansas City  by Chuck Marohn Nomina...

Chuck Marohn reviews the recently leaked White House infrastructure plan and discusses the ways in which it aligns with Strong Towns principles, as well as the places where it falls short. Read more about it here  and follow our ongoing infrastructure conversation here .

Rachel's guest this week is Strong Towns member and contributor Alexander Dukes , who just concluded an ongoing series on our site called A Town Well Planned. He talks about the inspiration for and response to his series, plus what it's like to be a community planner in the US Air Force. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE A Town Well Planned series Curbside Chat in Kansas City, MO  (January 30) Presentatio...

In this short, bonus episode, Chuck reads one of his recent articles about the chasm between the values of the average person and the values of the engineer. See the text of the article here.