The Strong Towns Podcast

Strong Towns member Paul Fritz of Sebastabol, CA, talks about the ways Strong Towns thinking has influenced him and his community. Sign up to be a member during our member drive. Go to http://www.strongtowns.org/membership

When you  become a member of Strong Towns , you are supporting a change in the conversation. You are giving us the resources that we need to get this powerful message in front of more and more people. It’s working. All we need today is your support.

In this podcast, Chuck Marohn interviews Tony Dutzik, Senior Policy Analyst for  Frontier Group  and  Strong Towns member  about his recent article,  "What Comes After the Auto Bubble?"  Chuck and Tony discuss the relationship between easy access to lending and car ownership increases, and its overlaps with the housing bubble and crash. They also discuss the impact of car-reliance on poor families...

Chuck and Rachel discuss several recent events in Traverse City and Chicago, as well as upcoming events in Brainerd, MN, Atlanta, GA and Calgary, AB. They also discuss Chuck's new series on incremental growth, which kicked off today on our website. Mentioned in this podcast: 2017 Strongest Town Contest Strong Towns Strength Test #1: How's your main street doing? Info about upcoming Q&A webcasts Br...

Chuck Marohn interviews Grace Potts of Ypsilanti, MI and Elias Crim of Valparaiso, IN, writers and editors for  Solidarity Hall , a group blog, "a hospitable old hostelry, a mental oasis in the deserted landscapes that surround us." Solidarity Hall reflects on great thinkers like Jane Jacobs, Wendell Berry, and Dorothy Day to discuss issues of community, religion and social progress. In this inter...

Rachel and Chuck discuss a recent webcast, upcoming events in Michigan and Illinois (including a member meetup with Strong Towns staff), and why our approaches to health care and infrastructure spending are remarkably similar and similarly messed up. Mentioned in this Podcast: Strong Talk: A Dangerous Street That Can't be Ignored (Video) An Open Letter to the City of Springfield  by Chuck Marohn C...

Chuck Marohn interviews Emily Hamilton about a recent article she published at the Foundation for Economic Education website entitled, " The Hidden War on Affordable Housing ." Emily is a Research Associate at  George Mason University's Mercatus Center  and she holds a Masters in economics from GMU as well. In this conversation, Chuck and Emily discuss the present lack of single-room occupancy and...

In this weekly podcast with Chuck Marohn and Rachel Quednau, Chuck relates his misadventures in Oklahoma, and how some Strong Towns members and event hosts stepped up to help remedy the situation. Chuck also discusses his " Open Letter to the City of Springfield " about a dangerous street that the city recognizes but refuses to redesign for safer crossings. Mentioned in this Podcast: "An Open Lett...

Chuck Marohn interviews Vince Graham, the former chair of the  South Carolina Infrastructure Bank  and current president of I'On Group. In this conversation, they discuss Graham's real estate development work and the uphill battle his company has faced in trying to do new urbanist development in a place where suburban-style development is the norm. Graham also talks about his time at the South Car...

Chuck and Rachel debrief on a recent trip to Asheville, NC with the team at  Urban3 , as well as an event in Ottawa County, MI. They also discuss an upcoming trip to  McAlester, OK  and recent content on the Strong Towns website.  Mentioned in this podcast: Upcoming event in McAlester, OK "Plan Everything but how to Pay for it all"  by Chuck Marohn Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Kille...

Northern Spark  is a free all-night art festival that has taken place in Minneapolis and St. Paul for the past several years. It's a one-night event but since 2011, it has more than included 535 artist projects in 120 venues, and attracted 222,000 attendees.  In this interview, Rachel Quednau chats with Sarah Peters, the Associate Director of the Northern Spark Festival, to find out how the event...

Pasqualina Azzarello  is a painter, public muralist, educator, and community advocate. She currently serves as City Arts Coordinator at  Easthampton City Arts+  in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and she is also part-time faculty at  Parsons The New School in New York City. In this interview with Rachel Quednau, Pasqualina discusses the experience of creating murals at New York City construction sites...

Richard Florida is a University Professor and Director of Cities at the  Martin Prosperity Institute  at the University of Toronto, he's a writer and journalist, and he serves as senior editor for  The Atlantic , where he co-founded and serves as Editor-at-Large for  CityLab . He's also the author of a new book,  The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation...

Chuck and Rachel discuss upcoming events in Brainerd, MN and Asheville, NC, and recap the recent CNU25 in Seattle. Mentioned in this podcast: Event in Brainerd, MN Event in Asheville, NC The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire  by Stephen Kinzer "Poverty, Partisanship and the Land Tax"  (3 videos) This week's open slackchat with Chuck will be at 1pm CT on We...

Jarrett Walker is a  transit planning consultant  and the author of a book,  Human Transit: How clearer thinking about public transit can enrich our communities and our lives . He also writes a blog called  Human Transit . In this conversation with Chuck Marohn, Walker considers, "What is the problem for which transit is the solution?" and "What does it mean for transit to work well?" Mentioned in...

Chuck and Rachel discuss upcoming Strong Towns events as part of the  25th Congress for the New Urbanism  in Seattle this week. They also chat about historic preservation, red light cameras and Richard Florida. Mentioned in this podcast: "Is nothing sacred?"  by Chuck Marohn CNU25 event info . RSVP for Beers with Engineers  here . Apply to be a debater  here . FEEcon event  in Atlanta, GA. Use the...

This week, Kea Wilson and Chuck Marohn began a conversation about the merits and pitfalls of Amazon with dueling articles (read  Chuck's piece here  and  Kea's piece here ). Today, we're sharing a podcast conversation in which these two Strong Towns staff members explain their differing perspectives on Amazon's place within a Strong Town. Is Amazon helpful or harmful to authors? Does Amazon suppor...

Rachel Quednau interviews Matt Tyrnauer and Robert Hammond, directors of a new movie called  Citizen Jane: Battle for the City , which is coming out this week (April 21) in select theaters and on demand. In this conversation, they discuss the power of Jacobs' message, her role as a non-professional female urban activist, and their goals for the film.

Chuck and Rachel discuss several recent and upcoming events, as well as Chuck's recent article,  "Cargo Cult Planning." Mentioned in this podcast: Eau Claire, WI event , April 20 Omaha, NE event , April 21 "Cargo Cult Planning"  by Chuck Marohn Shreveport campaign "Towards a Liberal Approach to Urban Form"  by Nolan Gray FEEcon in Atlanta, GA "Is nothing sacred?"  by Chuck Marohn Podcast: The Big...

Joyce Mandell is a mom, community organizer, sociologist, community development specialist, and urban studies professor who has lived in Worcester, Massachusetts for over twenty years. She blogs at  Jane Jacobs in the Woo  where she looks at her city through the eyes of the famous urban activist. Chuck Marohn interviews Joyce to discuss the energy and community growth happening in Worcester, the f...

Chuck and Rachel discuss Chuck's travel woes amidst the Delta airlines disaster last week. (Spoiler: He did eventually make it home.) Chuck turns it into  a broader lesson about fragility and efficiency .  Mentioned in this podcast: " Lessons from the Delta Implosion " by Chuck Marohn " How Fire Chiefs and Traffic Engineers Make Places Less Safe " by Steve Mouzon Events in Mount Pleasant, MI this...

In this podcast interview, recorded live at the  Strong Towns Summit  last week, Chuck Marohn speaks with Joey Durel—a Republican former mayor of Lafayette, LA—and Michael McGinn—a Democrat former mayor of Seattle, WA. They discuss what led them to run for office, the transportation issues they handled as mayors, and what lessons they learned during their time in leadership.

Chuck and Rachel discuss Chuck's packed event schedule including events in Eau Claire, WI and Omaha, NE last week, and one in  Wabash, IN this week . They also talk about a legal case against dangerous road design. Mentioned in this podcast:  Event in Wabash, IN " L.A. agrees to pay $9.5 million in wrongful death case"  from the Los Angeles Times After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni...

Chuck and Rachel debrief about the  Strong Towns Summit  and share the highlights of the event, including  a smart, #DotheMath-related presentation by government staff from Fate, TX . Chuck and Rachel also discuss  an upcoming event in Austin, TX  (with a bonus public meet-up) and some recent favorite books. Mentioned in this podcast: "A Fateful Summit"  (reflections on Fate, TX's presentation at...

Chuck and Rachel discuss the  Strong Towns Summit , which begins on Thursday (and  a few tickets remain for purchase !), plus they announce the winner of the  #StrongestTown Contest . Chuck also discusses a documentary film he's being featured in. Mentioned in this episode: Strong Towns Summit Summit transportation document:  "A Transportation Revolution" Strongest Town Contest The Mandibles  by L...