The Strong Towns Podcast

Chuck is joined by Joe Minicozzi, founder of the geoaccounting organization Urban3. They compare notes on the highway projects each of their cities is facing and discuss whether these projects bring value. They also talk about how Airbnbs affect the housing market and whether they should be taxed as houses or hotels. Additional Show Notes The book Joe and Chuck refer to at the end of the episode i...

How do you make streets safer without gentrifying an area? Will self-driving cars change the way we build cities? Are engineers tracking congestion the right way? Chuck discusses these questions and more with Vignesh Swaminathan, a civil engineer and project manager at Kimley-Horn. Also known as Mr. Barricade, Vignesh has built a massive online following by making street design understandable and...

How did we go from building strong, prosperous cities to weak, debt-ridden ones? In this episode, Chuck tracks the cultural and economic impacts of World War II on our development pattern. He explains what must change if we want to build strong cities again. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES This episode is a recording of a presentation Chuck gave in Denver. Click here to see some of the images Chuck referenc...

Why are America’s streets so dangerous — and what can we do about it? In this episode, Chuck talks with Wes Marshall, author of “Killed by a Traffic Engineer” and professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. From the history of traffic engineering to the failures of Vision Zero, they explore how design decisions shape safety — and what it will take to build streets that pro...

Chuck is joined by James Anderson, head of the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. Under his leadership, the program has helped thousands of cities worldwide embrace an innovative, people-based approach to local governance. Today, Chuck and James discuss why local governments matter now more than ever. Then they explore ways that residents, advocates, and organizations can e...

Chuck is joined by Quint Studer, the founder of the Center for Civic Engagement in Pensacola, Florida. They discuss Strong Towns’ involvement in Pensacola’s renewal and the Civic Leader Summit that will be held there in September. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Civic Leader Summit Quint Studer (site) Chuck Marohn (Substack) Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker .   Thi...

No matter how easy we make it to build, the existing housing system is based on a financial model that cannot tolerate lower prices. If falling prices is the goal, then we need to build a system that can deliver on it. In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck explains how our current system prevents prices from falling and how we can build a better one. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Learn how to...

In this special episode, Chuck is joined by Graham Campbell, director of Economics & Research for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. They discuss the true cost of infrastructure — and why both New Zealand and North America are facing the same financial and structural challenges. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Chuck Marohn (Substack) Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn...

In this episode, Chuck dives into the root causes of the housing crisis. Using clips from interviews with housing experts and reporters, he explores the popular theory that the housing crisis is caused by a lack of supply. He shows how this belief relates to the Strong Towns approach. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Learn how to unlock housing in your city: The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code R...

Chuck sits down with Ryan Johnson, the founder and visionary behind Culdesac Tempe, the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S. They discuss the realities of living in and developing a community like Culdesac, from transportation costs to working with local government. Ryan explains how they maintain walkability in an Arizona desert, how they successfully nurture small businesse...

Serenbe is a unique community just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It’s based on the development pattern of traditional English villages, with walkable, mixed-use “hamlets” surrounded by nature. In today’s episode, Chuck sits down with Serenbe founder Steve Nygren to discuss the process of developing this kind of community, as well as Steve’s development philosophy of “radical common sense.” ADDITION...

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...