The Strong Towns Podcast

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 o...

Cullum Clark, director of the Economic Growth Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, returns to the Strong Towns Podcast to discuss his recently published report on housing reform. Cullum highlights several reforms that have proven to be economically feasible, politically realistic, and impactful on a large scale. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES More from Cullum: Read the report: Build Homes, Expand Op...

Today, Chuck is joined by Jeff Speck, a city planner, author, and principal of an urban design and consultancy firm. They discuss the ideas shared in Chuck’s book “Escaping the Housing Trap” and how those concepts play out in the real world, including examples from Jeff’s own work. Their discussion covers a wide range of topics, including incremental zoning reform, the benefits and pitfalls of inc...

On the surface, sprawl seems like an easy answer to the housing crisis. It fits with the mechanisms we have in place today, and it aligns with the lived experiences and political will of most Americans. But the reality of our housing crisis is more nuanced, and it's bigger than sprawl: The problem is the current way we develop, whether that's inside cities or on the fringes. Chuck explains why in...

ZacTax is a financial analysis firm that helps city officials understand their revenue streams and make smarter financial choices. Today, Chuck is joined by its founders, Chad Janicek and Patrick Lawler. They explain how they work effectively with local governments and how their work is helping drive a cultural shift toward stronger and more productive cities. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Learn more abou...

Chuck reflects on the current state of the world. He explains that, when you recognize things are broken, you have two options. You can wait helplessly for someone else to fix them, or you can start rebuilding the systems closest to you. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES It's Member Week! Join the movement that's building stronger towns across North America. Join us for a four-hour livestream tour of North Am...

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck is joined by Carlee Alm-LaBar and Kevin Blanchard, former city staff members in Lafayette, Louisiana. Carlee is now Strong Towns’ chief of staff, while Kevin is CEO of the nonprofit Downtown Lafayette, which promotes infrastructure development and business revitalization. Carlee and Kevin discuss the challenges of balancing competing demands and p...

In this episode, Chuck explains why our current situation, though tense, actually presents a great opportunity for advocates of street safety, walkability, and bikeability. He then lays out a number of common misconceptions and errors that advocates will have to avoid if they want to take advantage of this opportunity. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Chuck Marohn (Substack)

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses how the design of an environment affects people psychologically. He explores how cities can use that knowledge to make streets safer, using a crash in Hyattsville, Maryland, as an example. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Get the full crash report from Hyattsville, Maryland. Learn more about the Crash Analysis model . Chuck Marohn (Substack)

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck is joined by Mark Moses, author of “The Municipal Financial Crisis: A Framework for Understanding and Fixing Government Budgeting.” Up for discussion today: The dangers of relying on “balanced budgets." The difference between city and business finances. The issues with privatization and regionalization. And more! ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Download the...

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck shares a keynote speech he gave at a statewide transportation conference in Kansas. He discusses the limitations of traditional traffic safety techniques and the consequences of designing high-speed roads through cities and towns, both in terms of safety and finance. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Chuck Marohn (Substack)

Rick Cole is the chief deputy controller of Los Angeles and a councilmember in Pasadena, California. He’s known for tackling challenging city budgets and has been honored for his work as a public official several times, including with a Excellence in Management Award. Cole joins Chuck Marohn on this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast to discuss city finances and how they can be improved. Their co...

This week, Chuck is joined by Shayne Kavanagh, senior manager of research for the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). The GFOA provides training and resources to city finance officers. In his role, Kavanagh develops new approaches to budgeting, financial reporting and revenue that can better address the problems local governments are trying to solve. Chuck and Kavanagh discuss the role...

What cities have successfully financed housing at the local level? How does tax increment financing work? When should cities stop subsidizing large-scale housing projects? Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn answers all these questions and more in this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES There are six code reforms your city officials can implement today to welcome more housi...

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck addresses the craziness of the current political climate. Using recent policy changes and public responses as examples, he explores how we’ve created a political climate of either-or: Either you decide to take a chainsaw to bankrupt and failing systems or you refuse to acknowledge that they’re bankrupt and failing. Chuck shows how the Strong Towns...

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck talks about housing development and zoning code reform with Seth Zeren, a neighborhood real estate developer in Providence, Rhode Island. They dive into the six code reforms recommended in “ The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform ,” covering why they’re important and how they help developers, residents and cities. ADDITIONAL SHOW...

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck explores the flawed nature of North America’s current “housing bargain,” where most neighborhoods are allowed to stay exactly the same as long as some neighborhoods — usually those that are poorer and have less political clout — are forced to radically change. He proposes a new way forward that respects cities as living and evolving systems. ADDIT...

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck is joined by Victor Dover, a planner and urban designer. They discuss the work and legacy of Dr. Donald Shoup, an engineer and professor of urban planning who revolutionized the fields of urban planning and parking reform with his book “The High Cost of Free Parking.” They also talk about their own relationships with Dr. Shoup and how he impacted...

This special episode of the Strong Towns Podcast explores the Strongest Town Contest, including what cities can learn from previous winners, what it means for cities to participate, and a preview of this year's Contest. Joining the discussion are Strong Towns staffers Lauren Ronnander and John Pattison, as well as Stephen Gawron, the former mayor of the 2018 Strongest Town, Muskegon, Michigan. ADD...

Today, Chuck is joined by Ben Hunt, the creator of Epsilon Theory. Their conversation revolves around the concept of the Widening Gyre, a “profound social equilibrium where bad people and bad ideas drive out good people and good ideas.” They discuss this concept from a few different angles: How it relates to top-down systems like America’s political systems and corporations. How it has led to the...

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses housing with Cullum Clark, director of the Economic Growth Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute. They talk about why there is so much resistance to new development, ways that officials and advocates could engage with the public to reduce that resistance, and what the incoming Trump administration could mean for housing. ADDITIONAL...

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses the common misbelief that an incremental approach to housing development is inherently slow. He explains how an incremental approach can actually be much faster than focusing on large housing projects, what that means for major cities, and how to make incremental housing more appealing to people who don’t want their neighborhoods to chan...

The Building Culture Podcast explores holistic solutions to crafting a more beautiful, resilient and thriving world through the built environment. Its host, Austin Tunnell, recently invited Strong Towns President Charles Marohn and California YIMBY’s Nolan Gray onto the show to debate the housing crisis. It was a great conversation that explores how these movements align and differ in their approa...

Over the years, Chuck has added audio clips to the Strong Towns Podcast outro music to memorialize influential moments and experiences he’s had since founding Strong Towns. Today, in honor of that outro music being retired, he breaks down each of these clips, explaining why they’re significant and how these experiences influenced him and the Strong Towns movement as a whole. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES...

On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck continues answering housing questions submitted by Ohio State University students. The questions cover state and federal housing policy, local government’s role in financing and regulation, local action, the division between urban and rural environments, and temporary housing. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X) . Part 1: " From Buildin...