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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

01:03:20

Build the Damn Train: How To Bring High-Speed Rail to...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/08/19

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses the report “How To Improve Domestic High-Speed Rail Project Delivery” with one of the report’s authors, Eric Goldwyn. They discuss the advantages of high-speed rail over other transportation options, the challenges that building such a system in the U.S. would pose and five key recommendations for overcoming those challenges.Goldwyn is a leading urban scholar and program director at the Marron Institute of Urban Management, as well as a

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56:56

The Traffic Enforcement Futility Loop

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/08/12

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck takes a look at a recent fatal car crash that took place in Ontario. Unfortunately, deadly car crashes occur all the time across North America, and this one might not have even stood out if not for a tweet released in response by local law enforcement, which held the promise of a team that intends to investigate the crash…but for all the wrong reasons. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES "Why Traffic Enforcement Isn’t Enough To Save Lives.” Chuck Marohn

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49:29

Why Local Leaders Can Address the Housing Crisis but...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/08/05

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses the feedback systems that created the housing affordability crisis. He explains why federal and state government policies can’t solve the problem and that local leaders are the real key to addressing it. He also lays out some of the concrete actions local leaders can take to address the housing crisis in their cities.ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES "Federal and State Programs Can’t Fix the Housing Crisis, but Local Action Can.” Chuck Marohn

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58:08

Oh Crap! Dealing With Sewer Upgrades Is a Complicated...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/07/29

Maumee, Ohio, winner of the 2024 Strongest Town Contest, is facing a big sewer infrastructure challenge. It needs to update its sewer system to comply with EPA regulations — an extremely large, expensive project. To handle this problem, the city is requiring residents who want to sell their homes to pay for the needed updates to their sewage systems, which is generating backlash from residents.In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck explains the history of sewer infrastructure, how the

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54:54

The Truth About the Suburban Experiment: A Response...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/07/22

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck responds to a recent Substack column that criticized the Strong Towns stance on the Suburban Experiment and infrastructure spending. He corrects some misconceptions from the column and discusses the ways that cities handle (or fail to handle) their finances and how that can lead to financial insolvency.ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Contra Strong Towns” (Substack). “What Strong Towns Really Says About Infrastructure Spending.” Chuck Marohn

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44:11

How To Escape the Housing Trap: A Special Q&A Session

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/06/17

Can your city escape the housing trap simply through blanket rezoning? Is completely eliminating zoning compatible with an incremental approach? How should your city handle historic designations that are blocking housing development? Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn answers all these questions and more in this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast.This Q&A session comes on the heels of a member-exclusive event where Chuck discussed his and Daniel Herriges’ new book “Escaping the Housing Trap:

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12:58

Member Drive Week Special: Most Public Engagement Is...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/06/14

This is the final episode in the Strong Towns Podcast's special Member Drive series. Every day, Chuck has read one of his best articles that you might’ve missed. Today, he’s reading one of Strong Towns’ most popular articles, “Most Public Engagement Is Worthless.” This article explores the typical methods used by city planners when collecting feedback from the public and why they often fail. Instead of focusing on what people think they want — since most of the time they don’t know themselves —

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11:02

Member Drive Week Special: If We Made Shoes Like We...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/06/13

This is the fourth episode in the Strong Towns Podcast's special Member Drive series. Every day, Chuck is reading one of his best articles that you might’ve missed. Today, he’s reading “If We Made Shoes Like We Make Housing, People Would Go Barefoot.” This article is an excerpt from Chuck’s most recent book “Escaping the Housing Trap,” coauthored with Daniel Herriges. It discusses how restrictions on types of housing have caused massive price spikes, wiped out starter homes and made any housing

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16:21

Member Drive Week Special: How Fannie Mae Puts a...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/06/12

This is the third episode in the Strong Towns Podcast's special Member Drive series. Every day, Chuck is reading one of his best articles that you might’ve missed. Today, he’s reading “How Fannie Mae Puts a Chokehold on Local Home Financing Solutions.” This article explains how mortgage financiers rose to dominance through an “orgy of debt and price appreciation” and how they continue to twist the conversation around housing to further increase prices and debt. Make sure to check back in tomorrow to

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13:05

Member Drive Week Special: One Billion Bollards

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/06/11

This is the second episode in the Strong Towns Podcast's special Member Drive series. Every day, Chuck is reading one of his best articles that you might’ve missed. Today, he’s reading “One Billion Bollards,” which discusses the current engineering norm of prioritizing drivers’ safety over that of pedestrians — and how this blatant disregard for people’s lives is “nothing less than institutionalized mass murder.” Make sure to check back in tomorrow to catch the next installment of this special

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13:36

Member Drive Week Special: The Cost of an Extra Foot

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/06/10

In honor of Member Drive, the Strong Towns Podcast is publishing five episodes this week. Every day, Chuck will read one of his best articles that you might’ve missed. Today, he’s reading “The Cost of an Extra Foot,” which explains why engineers love overdesign and what that means for cities’ finances. Make sure to check back in tomorrow to catch the next installment of this special series.If you enjoy this podcast, or any of the other work Strong Towns does, become a member today. Be the change

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50:06

Megan Kimble: The Toll Urban Highways Take and the...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/05/20

Megan Kimble is an Austin-based journalist and author who’s spent the last four years writing about urban highways and highway expansion in Texas. Today, she’s joining us to discuss her new book “City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways,” where she explores three highway projects in Austin, Dallas and Houston, and the different groups fighting to stop them.ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Megan Kimble (Website). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Join our email list to get all

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01:05:30

How to Escape Housing (and Baseball Stadium) Traps,...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/05/13

The Messy City is a podcast that discusses urban planning and design issues. Its host, Kevin Klinkenberg, recently invited Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn to appear on an episode. It was a great conversation, so we’re sharing that audio with you here on the Strong Towns Podcast, too. Up for discussion today: takeaways from “Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis,” the logistics of building new sports stadiums, and how Disney World simultaneously embodies and

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01:05:31

The Strong Towns Tension With YIMBYism

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/04/22

The Strong Towns approach to housing has some obvious tensions with NIMBYism, but what about YIMBYism? That’s the topic for discussion on the table for today’s episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, because while our approach has more in common with the YIMBY (“Yes in My Backyard”) crowd than differences, there are some nuances that are worth addressing. And if you want to take a serious deep dive into the Strong Towns approach to housing, then you’ll be glad to know that Escaping the Housing Trap:

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45:00

Alex Alsup: What Percentage of Property in the U.S....

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/04/15

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, host Chuck Marohn is joined by Alex Alsup of Regrid, an organization that, among other things, has put together the only 100% complete national parcel map for the United States. Alsup chats with us about this 10-year project and some of the data and analyses Regrid has gotten out of it—including what percentage of property in any given jurisdiction is locally owned, and the implications of these numbers.ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Check out the national parcel map

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57:59

Where Strong Towns Stands As We Enter Another...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/04/08

As the U.S. enters another election year—one that is certain to be contentious—we know that many Americans are going to be engrossed in the conversation about national politics. And many of our readers want to know where Strong Towns stands on the issue. In this week’s episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, host Chuck Marohn responds to this question, and promises one thing above all else: we will remain dedicated to our mission, no matter what.ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong Towns is a bottom-up

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58:55

A Chat With Barkha Patel, Who Helped Achieve Zero...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/04/01

On this week’s episode, Chuck chats with Barkha Patel, the Director of Infrastructure for Jersey City. Patel has pioneered changes in her city that have dramatically reduced traffic fatalities—in fact, this month marked seven years that Jersey City has gone without traffic deaths. If you’ve been around Strong Towns for a while, you’ve heard us talk about her before, and we’re excited to announce that she’ll be delivering the keynote speech at the 2024 National Gathering. Don’t worry, we’re not going

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51:06

Why We Need To Show Empathy Toward Drivers in...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/03/25

Bike Talk is a radio show dedicated to the idea that we need to prioritize bikes as a form of public transportation, and they recently invited Chuck to appear on an episode. It was a great conversation, and so we’re sharing that audio with you today here, as well. They discuss why it’s important to have empathy in discussions about transportation and street safety, and why leading with empathy toward drivers is a good strategy.ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Listen to the original episode on Bike

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56:15

Benjamin Herold: The Unraveling of America’s Suburbs

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/03/18

Benjamin Herold, author of Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America’s Suburbs, joins host Chuck Marohn on this week’s episode of the Strong Towns Podcast. Disillusioned tells the story of five families from Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Pittsburg, all of whom moved to the suburbs in search of the American dream…but instead, they’re experiencing the decline of the suburbs, rather than the benefits that were initially sold to them.ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Check out

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53:07

What Is the Role of Philanthropy in Building Stronger...

The Strong Towns Podcast ·

2024/03/11

What’s the role of philanthropy when it comes to building strong towns? How do we get philanthropy involved, and how do we make good investments? How do we access federal programs and bigger resources effectively? This is a tension within our conversation, and to help us unpack it, we invited two experts who are well-aligned with these issues onto the podcast: Kelly Jin, the Vice President for Community and National Initiatives at the Knight Foundation (where she leads a $150 million active grant

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