Upzoned

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Andrew Ganahl, managing partner of a real estate development company that specializes in urban infill housing. They discuss a Washington Post article about townhouses, exploring the benefits of this style of development and Ganahl’s own experiences with building townhouses in Kansas City. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “ The new American Dream shou...

Post-COVID-19, there’s been a resurgence of interest in mixed-use neighborhoods, leading some cities to allow for small corner stores even in neighborhoods that are otherwise residential only. In this Upzoned episode, host Abby Newsham is joined by Norm Van Eeden Petersman, the director of membership and development for Strong Towns. They discuss the role that small corner stores play in local eco...

After the collapse of a Florida condo made national news in 2021, new safety regulations were enacted, requiring nearly 90% of Florida units to be updated. This left condo owners and buyers blindsided by a large backlog of deferred maintenance costs with no money saved to pay for them. In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn explain that this situation is an example of t...

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by John Anderson, a builder and developer in Georgia, to discuss the Strong Towns take on “urban homesteading,” where cities sell derelict houses to people for $1 in exchange for a promise to renovate the property and live there for a period of time. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “ Can Selling Off Homes for $1 Solve Urban Blight? ” by Rowan Bridge, B...

Editor's Note: We are deeply saddened to see the damage Hurricane Helene has done to Western North Carolina. Please see the additional notes for ways you can help.   In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss managed retreat, where the federal government buys land from people to encourage them to move away from areas at high risk for natural disaster. According to t...

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a national deployment plan of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, a wireless communication tool that allows vehicles to transmit data on speed, location, road condition and other basic information. The DOT plans to implement this technology in 75% of the nation's intersections over the next decade or so. In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby...

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the article “Toward a New Way of Educating City Builders” by Seth Zeren, a founding member of Strong Towns. They discuss the many different disciplines that are responsible for shaping the built environment, the professional silos that often develop between these disciplines, and how a shift in management or the way people...

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by small-scale developers Alli Quinlan and Bernice Radle. They discuss their experiences in the field of incremental development, how to make incremental development more feasible in your city, and the importance of encouraging women to become incremental developers. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Alli Quinlan (LinkedIn) . Bernice Radle (LinkedIn) . A...

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss a Wall Street Journal article titled “The American Dream Feels Out of Reach for Most.” They talk about how inflation and high housing costs can put the American Dream out of reach for many people, as well as the trade-offs that people may be forced to make between different life priorities, such as career fulfillment and ho...

This week, Upzoned host Abby Newsham and The Messy City Podcast host Kevin Klinkenberg are working together in a special collaborative episode. They are joined by Jim Heid, a Californian landscape architect turned small-scale developer, to discuss the real estate profession and why he thinks it can solve a lot of modern problems. Heid runs the Small Scale Developer Forum and has a new book called...

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the article “ Huge Fire Trucks Are Making Us All Less Safe ” by Collin Woodard. They talk about how North American fire trucks are unusual for their massive sizes, how accommodating such large trucks makes streets more dangerous and how fire departments could adapt to improve public safety. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “ Huge Fire...

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about the rapid population decline of children under five years old in large urban areas. They discuss the factors that can drive would-be urban families out of cities, how the rapidly declining population will affect services like schools and the importance of cities being able to accommodate diverse lifestyles in a dynamic w...

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about the Olympic Village that was built in Paris and what the city plans to do with the development now that the Games are over. They discuss the accusations of gentrification and greenwashing that Paris officials are facing, the challenges inherent in trying to complete large-scale, sustainable projects on a deadline, and le...

Indianapolis officials are encouraging residents to be involved in improving the city, both through fund-matching programs and by opening a lending library of tools and equipment to help residents start pilot projects. In this Upzoned episode, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about how Indianapolis’ programs and initiatives are a great example of changing a city’s bureaucratic structure...

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Jason Carter-Solomon, an incremental developer and commercial lender in Kansas City, to talk about financing small-scale development. They discuss the layers of risk that small-scale developers must navigate, and Solomon offers his perspective and advice on facing common challenges, such as dealing with entitlements and building inspectors...

This fall, seven states will have the opportunity to cut — or abolish, in some cases — property taxes, according to an article by Governing . In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the Strong Towns perspective on property taxes, the consequences of removing them and how most people (including city officials) don’t realize how much it costs to run a city. Chuck e...

The governor of New York recently announced the dissolution of the city’s congestion pricing program after years of planning and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. This program would’ve initiated a $15 toll on vehicles entering certain parts of Manhattan, and it was partly established to help support reinvestment in the transit system. It was shut down less than a month before it was s...

You’ve heard of YIMBYs and NIMBYs, but have you heard of YIGBYs? YIGBY stands for “Yes In God’s Backyard,” and it’s a movement focused on leveraging land owned by religious institutions to alleviate the housing crisis. This has the potential to benefit both people in need of housing and religious institutions. In this episode of Upzoned, hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the potential be...

This week on Upzoned, hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “ The Dollar-Store Showdown Comes Down to Real Estate .” It highlights the differences between Dollar General, which has stores located in mostly rural areas and is expanding its reach, and Family Dollar, which has stores located in mostly urban areas and is closing hundreds of stores. Wh...

Incremental development is the most resilient and financially responsible way for communities to grow and improve. As North America struggles through a housing crisis, this style of development becomes increasingly important. On this Upzoned episode, host Abby Newsham is joined by town builder Monte Anderson to talk about his experience as an incremental developer and the important principles of t...

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Doug Barrick, the town manager of Rutherfordton, North Carolina. Rutherfordton was one of the contestants in the 2024 Strongest Town Contest. Barrick discusses what it was like to compete, what Rutherfordton is doing to become a stronger town, and how the town’s unique location and history influence those efforts. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Dou...

Nonprofit organizations straddle the line between the private and public sectors, receiving both private donations and funding from the government to provide services. The problem with this model, an article in American Affairs says, is that nonprofits are then motivated to sabotage their own efforts so they can receive more money. This is only one example of the kinds of corruption that flourish...

Last month, Strong Towns hosted the National Gathering in Cincinnati. It was a two-day event packed with different speakers and sessions, with many advocates meeting each other in person for the first time. In this episode of Upzoned, Abby talks with Strong Towns founder Chuck Marohn about his unique experience at the Gathering, the process of choosing a keynote speaker, how the National Gathering...

This special edition of Upzoned was recorded last week at the 2024 National Gathering. Join host Abby Newsham as she talks to attendees about their efforts to build stronger towns. Interviewees: (0:00) Lisa Hutson , a business owner who’s turning an abandoned factory into a mixed-use community hub. (8:52) Sean Suder , a zoning reform expert who helps cities make their zoning codes more people-frie...

The city of Cincinnati has pledged $200k to keep the popular bikeshare program Red Bike alive for another year. Joining us to talk about bikeshare programs and Red Bike’s financial difficulties is Bryce Mortera, a member of Civic Cincinnati. Are these programs really beneficial for residents? And if so, is there a more sustainable way to fund them than relying on sponsors?