The Strong Towns Podcast

Chuck, while driving through a Minnesota blizzard, shares some reflections on small town America, the tension between urban and rural areas and the Strong Towns movement. Become a member of Strong Towns at  www.strongtowns.org/membership .

As part of our membership drive, Chuck Marohn invited Strong Towns members to submit their questions—any question—and today, on a late-night, Mountain Dew-fueled podcast, he's answering them. Become a member of Strong Towns today. To see a list of the questions answered in this podcast, visit this page: www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/11/16/chuck-answers-your-questions

On Day 2 of  our member drive , Chuck sits down with the two youngest Strong Towns advocates.

This episode kicks off a week of Member Drive-related podcasts. Today, Chuck and Rachel talk about the importance of the Strong Towns movement, especially in light of the recent presidential election. They also chat about what their most proud of from Strong Towns this year, and what they are most looking forward to in 2017. This episode spells out exactly why Strong Towns needs new members and wh...

After some travel and contemplation, Chuck Marohn offers some thoughts on the presidential election, Strong Towns and the future of America.

In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with  Gracen Johnson , a Strong Towns contributor and member who wrote an essay for our new book,  Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Rachel Quednau interviews Gracen Johnson about making the hard decision to move to a new town, plus her recent wedding, her work with the  Incremental Development Allianc...

Russ Roberts  is a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and the host of the podcast,  EconTalk . He's also starred in two  rap   videos  about John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek, and is the author of several books, including most recently,  How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness.   In this interview, Chuck Marohn and Russ Roberts discus...

Chuck and Rachel discuss recent events in Madison and Texas, including a surprise meeting with the Mayor of Austin. They also welcome new members, chat about housing affordability in Portland, and invite listeners to participate in a  Halloween Walking Tour . Mentioned in this podcast: Strong Towns' pitch deck  (where the image on the right came from) "Spiking a Rising Tide"  (Portland housing aff...

Chuck Marohn interviews Kate Kraft, the Executive Director of  America Walks  to talk about infrastructure spending and creating more walkable places across America. She advocates for a balanced, people-centered transportation system and discusses different ways to achieve that. This interview is part of our  ongoing conversation on federal infrastructure spending .

Chuck and Rachel discuss Chuck's busy travel schedule from last week (Thunder Bay and Bellingham), and this week's Texas tour to  San Marcos ,  Austin ,  Arlington  and  Fort Worth  (plus Rachel's speaking engagement in  Madison ). They also talk about Chuck's dental woes, new Strong Towns members, and housing affordability and transit issues. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: " Distorting Housing Prices...

As part of  Bike Week  at Strong Towns, we interviewed a long time member and friend, John Simmerman. He's the founder of  Active Towns  and travels around the world sharing his love of active living and promoting bikeability and walkability. John shares the many ways that towns can create a "culture of activity" in their communities—one that is welcoming and safe for people of all ages. MENTIONED...

In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with  Nate Hood , a Strong Towns contributor and  founding member  who wrote an essay for our new book,  Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Nate Hood chats with Chuck Marohn about pedestrian safety efforts—the good, the bad and the ugly—in his hometown of St. Paul, MN. Get your copy of our new book toda...

Ed Erfurt is a long-time friend and member of Strong Towns. He recently moved to Ranson, WV and serves as Assistant City Manager there. Today, he discusses his perspective as a local leader in a small town on what infrastructure is worth investing in, how to get a real return on your investment and how to avoid getting "caught up in free money." This interview is part of our  ongoing conversation...

It's been a little while since we did a Week Ahead podcast, because Chuck's been on the road doing tons of events. In today's podcast, he talks about recent events in several cities in Oregon as well as Shreveport, LA. Chuck and Rachel also announce  a new job opening . Finally, they dive into Strong Towns' newly-released book,  Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Mentioned in this epis...

In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with  Andrew Price , a Strong Towns contributor who wrote two essays for our new book,  Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Andrew chats with Rachel Quednau about life in Hoboken, NJ, and takes a look back at two of his essays which are featured in the book.  Get your copy of our new book today.  

In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with  Daniel Herriges , a Strong Towns contributor who wrote an essay for our new book,  Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Daniel chats with Rachel Quednau about the inspiration for his essay, "Moving the Overton Window," his vision for the Strong Towns movement, and his experience as a masters student...

Ray LaHood served as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009-2013. Prior to that, he served in the House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 18th congressional district. In this interview with Chuck Marohn, Mr. LaHood discusses bipartisan collaboration on infrastructure decisions and his views on the presidential candidates' position on  drastically increasing infrastructur...

Former Seattle Mayor -- and friend of Strong Towns -- Mike McGinn joins us to talk about the nation's infrastructure crisis and what he would do to make sure that a surge in federal infrastructure spending isn't wasted.

On the day of the first presidential debate, Chuck records a solo Week Ahead podcast to look back at last week's event in Knoxville, this week's event in Edina and a little annoucement on next week.

Jonathan Holth is a Strong Towns member from Grand Forks, ND. He's a  restaurant owner , he's on the board of the downtown business association, he's an active citizen and he's a father of three girls. In this interview with Chuck Marohn, Jonathan discusses his work and vision for a better downtown Grand Forks, as well as his perspective as a small business owner and a parent, working to increment...

The Week Ahead podcast is back! After some technical issues over the last few weeks, we're in the swing of things again, talking about upcoming and past events, a recent  #StrongSchools campaign , our ongoing  #InfrastructureCrisis conversation  and book recommendations too.  Mentioned in this podcast: " Infrastructure Spending for Dummies " by Charles Marohn Knoxville event, September 22 " Unders...

Steven Shultis is a long-time member of Strong Towns and a strong advocate for urban public education, having raised his own children in the inner city of Springfield, MA. In this follow-up to  his 2015 podcast interview , he shares his perspective on raising a family in a walkable neighborhood and choosing to send his kids to an urban school, for  Strong Towns' Schools Week .  You can read more f...

Chuck Marohn interviews Paul Stewart, the Executive Director of the  Oswego Renaissance Association  in Oswego, NY. It's a small town like so many others, that has lost population and jobs in the last several decades and is struggling to create lasting solutions to its economic challenges. Stewart talks about his transition from being a citizen rehabbing his historic home—to an activist who starte...

In this belated interview from  Suburban Poverty week , we had the chance to speak with Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at the  Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings  and co-author of the book,  Confronting Suburban Poverty in America . Her work primarily focuses on urban and suburban poverty, metropolitan demographics, and tax policies that support low-income workers and communities. This convers...

Rachel Quednau and Andrew Price debate the merits of one-way vs. two-way streets in this podcast. MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: 3 Reasons to Turn These One-Way Streets into Two-Ways  by Rachel Quednau The Case for One-Way Streets  by Andrew Price Small Bets  by Andrew Price