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PODCAST

The Strong Towns Podcast

The Strong Towns Podcast is a weekly conversation on the Strong Towns movement, hosted by Strong Towns Founder and President Charles Marohn and frequently featuring special guests. The podcast explores how we can financially strengthen our cities, towns, and neighborhoods and, in the process, make them better places to live. Join Chuck in examining how everything from urban design to economics to systems theory to psychology helps inform this core question.

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All Episodes

01:03:03

The Arguments for Speed Cameras…and Why They Don’t...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/09/18

On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, host Chuck Marohn talks about his concerns with speed cameras. Plenty of people dislike speed cameras as surveillance devices and, conversely, many urbanists support the use of speed cameras as a tool to make streets safer. Chuck’s line of thinking falls into neither of these camps, and so today, he shares some of the top arguments in favor of speed cameras, and discusses why they don't hold up—and why speed cameras should not be seen as part of the

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01:00:54

Steve Mouzon: How Do We Rebuild Maui?

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/09/11

In light of the recent wildfires in Maui (and other parts of Hawaii), this week’s Strong Towns Podcast episode features a conversation with Steve Mouzon, author of The Original Green and member of the Strong Towns Advisory Board. Mouzon’s work with recovery efforts after disasters in Haiti and Jamaica—as well as his observations of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans—has offered him valuable insight on what it takes for a community to recover from large-scale destruction. He talks with podcast host

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01:24:10

Walkable City Design Is Critical for Economic Health

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/08/28

After World War II, the U.S. embarked on an experiment in how we build cities. Instead of creating places scaled to people who walked, we built suburbs that focused on moving cars quickly and efficiently. Many cities in North America are looking to become walkable again, but it’s not easy. Time and time again, change makers are hit by bureaucracy and complicated logistics. Why is it so difficult to change? In “Urban Intercurrence: The Struggle to Build Walkable Downtowns in Car-Dependent Suburbia,”

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39:12

Citizen Versus Developer? No! It’s Citizen As Developer.

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/07/24

Recently, an article came out of Medicine Hat, Alberta, reflecting on some development conversations happening within the city, inspired by Strong Towns presentations. When Chuck Marohn read the article, he felt core insights were missing or misunderstood within the piece. On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses the challenges faced by local journalists and the impact it has on the quality of reporting. He shares his personal experience with his wife, who is a reporter, and

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53:58

Four Communities Are Becoming Examples of Change

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/07/12

Change is not always easy, and without examples, it can be difficult to reimagine how we do things. That’s just one of the reasons Strong Towns decided to launch the Community Action Lab: a carefully customized, two-year relationship between Strong Towns and selected cities seeking to make a change. Four cities are currently leading the way through this program in applying Strong Towns concepts and ideas from the bottom up. This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck talks about the Community

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42:48

From 500 to 5,000: What Strong Towns Members Are...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/06/12

Just a couple weeks ago, we got the opportunity to meet nearly 500 Strong Towns members for the first time at the Strong Towns National Gathering. It is evident that Strong Towns members are people who care deeply about their place: We heard so many compelling stories about people working to make their town stronger. In this podcast, as part of our Member Week, we wanted to share Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn’s introductory speech from the Gathering. Tune in to hear him talk about some of the

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53:54

Dollar Stores Are Leeching the Economic Vitality of...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/06/05

A recent report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance reveals some shocking facts: In 2021, half of the new stores opened in the U.S. were chain dollar stores. Moreover, Dollar Store and Dollar Tree (which are part of the Family Dollar system) together operate more than 34,000 stores. That’s more than McDonald’s, Starbucks, Target, and Walmart combined. How did we get to this point, how does this transformation in retail affect local economies, and what can communities do to protect themselves

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56:55

Ian Lockwood: Thoughts From an Engineer

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/05/01

How should engineers be thinking about building wealth in communities? That’s just one of the questions Chuck Marohn asks of Ian Lockwood, a recognized national leader in sustainable transportation policy and urban design. Lockwood is currently a livable transportation engineer for Toole Design, an engineering firm which works to build safer and more walkable streets. On this Strong Towns Podcast, join Marohn and Lockwood as they talk about the work of Toole Design, complete streets, and

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59:08

What’s Going On With the Recent Bank Failures?

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/04/03

In March 2023, major banks collapsed, interest rates have been rising, and many people are greatly—and rightly—concerned about inflation. In this week’s episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn talks about the financial system, and provides insights on what’s currently happening in the banking industry. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

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56:52

Growth Through Destruction

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/03/20

In 1906, a powerful earthquake in San Francisco, California, damaged a good portion of the city, causing havoc and distress as 28,188 buildings were destroyed, and over 3,000 people were killed. Curiously, after this tragic disaster, things began to grow again, but this time the built environment came back stronger. Seth Zeren, a founding member of Strong Towns, wrote about this phenomenon last month, and this week on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn and Zeren chat about complexity, and if

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56:27

On the Conservative Reaction to 15-Minute Cities

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/03/13

We believe everyone can build a Strong Town, but all too often, political differences divide communities, and instead of working together to build stronger neighborhoods from a bottom-up approach, we get caught up in contentious, top-down ideas and conversations. One such political divide has developed around the concept of the 15-minute city: a term used to describe traditional neighborhoods. While to urbanists it describes a walkable place, to critics, it’s a potential infringement on personal

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54:45

The Property Tax System is Broken—Regrid Works on...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/02/20

The property tax system is broken all across the nation. In Detroit, residents face an issue of inconsistent assessments, where two homes that are similar in condition and sitting on similar-sized lots have widely different assessment scores. Recently, the team at Regrid, an industry-leading property data and location intelligence company, put together an Assessment Gauge map that may prove to be a useful tool for homeowners, assessors, or nonprofits in bringing a much-needed balance to

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01:06:32

Jeff Speck on the 10th-Anniversary Edition of...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/02/13

Today on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn welcomes back Jeff Speck, city planner and author, to talk about a brand-new version of his book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time. It’s the 10th anniversary for the book, and a lot has changed in the U.S. since the original was published. While the content from the first edition is still relevant today, this updated version holds over 100 pages of new information useful to those actively working to make their cities

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50:36

Lawsuit Update: Making a Stand for Engineers in the...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/01/30

Anyone should be able to speak up and question whether current engineering practices truly benefit our communities. That’s especially true for licensed professionals who have a special duty to the public to be heard. And when they do speak up, their statements should not make them a target for licensing boards. Members of the Minnesota board of engineering licensure are supposed to uphold the integrity of their institution, but instead they have abused their power, overstepping their authority in

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51:25

Mike Hathorne: Where Does Decision-Making Need to...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/01/09

How far up the chain of command does a problem need to go before someone can make a decision on it? According to the concept of subsidiarity, it matters less what decision is made and more who makes the decision—in other words, a decision should be made at the lowest level that it can competently be made. Mike Hathorne, principal of community planning and design at Commun1ty.one and Strong Towns member, works with cities to create decision-making processes that can impact how our places function

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54:12

Ben Hunt: In Praise of Bitcoin

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2023/01/02

Today’s Strong Towns Podcast guest, Ben Hunt, wrote on Epsilon Theory that “Bitcoin has been an authentic expression of identity, a positive identity of autonomy, entrepreneurialism, and resistance to the Nudging State and the Nudging Oligarchy.” Today, join Chuck Marohn as he invites Hunt onto the podcast to discuss his insights on Bitcoin, the story of investing, and how it connects to all of us. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “In Praise of Bitcoin,” by Ben Hunt, Epsilon Theory (April 2021). Read more

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08:46

Thanks for a Great Year

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2022/12/19

It's been a great year for the Strong Towns Podcast; thanks for listening. We wanted to close out 2022 with one last message, and to wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

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01:04:37

Sam Quinones: True Tales of America and Hope in the...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2022/12/05

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn chats with Sam Quinones, author and journalist, about his most recent book: The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth. Along with doing a deep dive on particular sections of the book, Quinones tells how we went from city hall reporter to writing books about addiction. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Sam Quinones’s website. Order your copy of The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and

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16:22

Get Ready for #BlackFridayParking

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2022/11/23

Our annual Black Friday Parking event is coming up, so get your cameras ready! Black Friday Parking is a nationwide event drawing attention to the harmful nature of minimum parking requirements. Parking minimums create a barrier for new local businesses and fill up our cities with empty parking spaces that don’t add value to our places. Every year on Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, people all across North America snap photos of the (hardly full) parking lots in their

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55:38

The Impact of Systemic Racism on Jackson’s Water Crisis

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2022/11/21

A prominent question that keeps coming up since the beginning of the Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis is, “How did we get to this point?” If you’ve been tuning in to the Strong Towns Podcast, you’ll know that Chuck has talked about the water crisis in Jackson a couple of times working to answer this question. He’s gone in depth about the financial fragility of our water systems, how they work, and why we even have them. After hearing Chuck’s analysis, some Strong Towns members felt there was not

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