This week we're hosting a series of on the ground events in the Iron Range region of Minnesota. We're also sharing stories from the region and offering examples of how Strong Towns ideas can apply there. Scott Hall is a long-time resident of the Iron Range and the Community Asset Coordinator for KAXE Northern Community Radio . In this podcast, he talks about the history of the region and the changes in the Iron Range over the last several decades, through the lens of his own life there. Chuck Ma...
May 16, 2016•59 min•Ep. 241
In a solo podcast, Chuck talks about the articles he wrote on Smart Growth and sprawl ( first and second ) and why he doesn't use either term in describing himself or the Strong Towns movement.
May 12, 2016•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 240
Chuck and Rachel discuss the absurd over-extension of the Brainerd city budget (Chuck's hometown) all for the sake of imaginary growth, plus recent Strong Towns events in St. Paul, MN and Lake Ozark, MO. They also make a special announcement at the end that you won't want to miss.
May 09, 2016•33 min•Ep. 239
It's Jane Jacobs Week at Strong Towns. Nolan Gray is a writer for Market Urbanism . He analyzes Jane Jacobs' work in light of Hayekian philosophy and discusses the need to move away from central planning. Read his piece, Who Plans? Jane Jacobs' Hayekian Critique of Urban Planning .
May 04, 2016•41 min•Ep. 238
It's Jane Jacobs Week at Strong Towns. Nolan Gray is a writer for Market Urbanism . He analyzes Jane Jacobs' work in light of Hayekian philosophy and discusses the need to move away from central planning. Read his piece, Who Plans? Jane Jacobs' Hayekian Critique of Urban Planning .
May 04, 2016•41 min•Ep. 237
It's Jane Jacobs Week at Strong Towns. Today's podcast features Denise Pinto, Global Director of Jane’s Walk. Jane's Walk is a movement of free, citizen-led walking tours inspired by Jane Jacobs. The walks get people to tell stories about their communities, explore their cities, and connect with neighbors. Denise discusses how the organization got started and its impact on communities around the world.
May 03, 2016•22 min•Ep. 236
Chuck and Rachel discuss the problem with the American highway system, plus a recent trip to the New Urbanist development of Carlton Landing, OK. Also included in this podcast: An announcement about the new Strong Towns book club, a welcome for new members and a small request.
Apr 25, 2016•29 min•Ep. 235
In this weekly update podcast, Chuck and Rachel discuss the success of Strong Citizens Week, a recent controversial essay on sprawl, and Chuck's trip to the Strongest Town in America.
Apr 18, 2016•32 min•Ep. 233
Chris Martenson is an economic researcher and futurist who specializes in energy and resource depletion. He is co-founder of PeakProsperity.com and the author of The Crash Course . We're pleased to feature him as part of Strong Citizens Week.
Apr 15, 2016•52 min•Ep. 232
Ethan Kent is the Senior Vice President at Project for Public Spaces . Today he talks about his life with a family of four in a 900 sq ft apartment, as well as his work to make public spaces across the world better. We're happy to feature him as part of Strong Citizens Week.
Apr 14, 2016•32 min•Ep. 231
Marian Liou is a long-time resident of Atlanta, a mother of two, and a graduate of Stanford University and Columbia Law School. She is also the founder of the social enterprise organization, We Love BuHi . We Love BuHi envisions a safe, attractive, fun and livable Buford Highway corridor that celebrates and is inclusive of its diverse communities. The organization helps to showcase local ethnic restaurants and works with restaurant owners to build a better neighborhood....
Apr 13, 2016•41 min•Ep. 230
In the summer of 2010, Chris and Melissa Bruntlett, along with their two young children made the conscious deciison to sell the family car, embarking on a new and enlightening adventure. As they began to share their story of biking, walking and using transit for their daily lives with others, they gained considerable media attention and have been featured in several films, articles and more. They also started Modacity, a multi-service communications firm focused on inspiring healthier, happier, ...
Apr 12, 2016•40 min•Ep. 229
We kick off Strong Citizens Week here at Strong Towns with a conversation with Mr. Money Mustache. MMM is -- by far -- the guest our listeners have most requested, and for good reason. He is the individual digital to our community analog. His insights will help you live a better life and, should you choose to be a true Mustachian, put you in position to help your community become a Strong Town. If you're not already, you should be reading everything you can at mrmoneymustache.com . You can also ...
Apr 11, 2016•54 min•Ep. 228
Chuck and Rachel discuss the smart growth movement, neighborhood corner stores, and the winner of the Strongest Town contest. Plus, they offer a sneak preview of next week's "Strong Citizens" podcasts and articles.
Apr 04, 2016•33 min•Ep. 227
Which is the Strongest Town? Hoboken, NJ and Carlisle, PA made it to the final round in our march madness Strongest Town contest. This is audio from our championship web broadcast, featuring representatives Phil Jonat (from Hoboken, NJ) and Brenda Landis (from Carlisle, PA), hosted by Chuck Marohn. Once you've finished listening, please visit strongtowns.org/strongesttown to vote.
Mar 31, 2016•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 226
Welcome to our Final Four round of the Strongest Town Competition . We invite you to listen to the following interview that Charles Marohn, president of Strong Towns, conducted with representatives from a town in our contest. Once you've finished listening to it, along with its competitor, Holland, MI (they'll be released at the same time), please visit strongtowns.org/strongesttown to vote. Brenda Landis (Carlisle West Side Neighbors), Chris Varner (Elm Street Manager) and Safronia Perry (Hope ...
Mar 28, 2016•23 min•Ep. 225
Welcome to our Final Four round of the Strongest Town Competition . We invite you to listen to the following interview that Charles Marohn, president of Strong Towns, conducted with representatives from a town in our contest. Once you've finished listening to it, along with its competitor, Carlisle, PA (they'll be released at the same time), please visit strongtowns.org/strongesttown to vote. Mayor Nancy DeBoer, City Council representative Brian Burch, and City Manager Ryan Cotton discuss their ...
Mar 28, 2016•22 min•Ep. 224
Welcome to our Final Four round of the Strongest Town Competition . We invite you to listen to the following interview that Charles Marohn, president of Strong Towns, conducted with representatives from a town in our contest. Once you've finished listening to it, along with its competitor, Hoboken, NJ (they'll be released at the same time), please visit strongtowns.org/strongesttown to vote. Ryan Whaley (local business owner) and Eric Wobser (City Manager) discuss Sandusky's supportive community...
Mar 28, 2016•18 min•Ep. 223
Welcome to our Final Four round of the Strongest Town Competition . We invite you to listen to the following interview that Charles Marohn, president of Strong Towns, conducted with a representative from a town in our contest. Once you've finished listening to it, along with its competitor, Sandusky, OH (they'll be released at the same time), please visit strongtowns.org/strongesttown to vote. Phil Jonat, a lifelong New Jersey resident, talks about how Hoboken is a place where people can raise k...
Mar 28, 2016•19 min•Ep. 222
Chuck and Rachel discuss a recent trip to South Carolina, a week of open SlackChats and the March Madness competition. Plus, Chuck shares insights on economist, Tomas Sedlacek.
Mar 21, 2016•27 min•Ep. 221
Strong Towns staff, Rachel Quednau, Jason Schaefer and Yuri Artisbise discuss the Strongest Town contest and share their personal predictions for the winners. Jason provides an update on the current standings. Learn more at strongtowns.org/strongesttown. CityLab has dubbed it "perhaps the most adorable bracket-style competition around."
Mar 17, 2016•37 min•Ep. 220
Chuck is back from vacation. He and Rachel discuss pedestrian crossing and safety issues, along with the Strongest Town march madness competition, plus an upcoming live broadcast from the staff.
Mar 15, 2016•26 min•Ep. 219
Chuck Marohn steps back to look at the Growth Ponzi Scheme and where it has taken us today. How do we currently deal with slow-downs in growth? How do anti-fragile, resilient, and fragile communities handle challenges differently? Chuck pulls from economists and scientists like Tomas Sedlacek and Jared Diamond to consider what the end of the Growth Ponzi Scheme might look like. It ain't pretty.
Mar 10, 2016•41 min•Ep. 218
Juan Mullerat and Steve Wright run an urban design firm called PlusUrbia. In this interview hosted by Rachel Quednau, they discuss their newest project, helping to transform an urban highway --Calle Ocho in Little Havana, Miami-- back into a walkable boulevard. Learn more about the project and get involved at myCalle8.org .
Mar 09, 2016•49 min•Ep. 217
Jason Schaefer makes a guest appearance along with Rachel Quednau while Chuck is out on vacation. They discuss a recent trip to Puerto Rico, the upcoming Strongest Town March Madness competition, membership and Tina Fey's book, Bossypants.
Mar 07, 2016•24 min•Ep. 216
On this Leap Day, Chuck and Rachel discuss housing finance policy (last week's theme), a recent staff retreat to Disneyland, and a new membership page, plus behavioral economics.
Feb 29, 2016•32 min•Ep. 215
Daniel Kay Hertz is a Senior Fellow at City Observatory and a graduate of the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. He joins the Strong Towns Podcast this week to talk about housing finance and how it impacts disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Feb 25, 2016•41 min•Ep. 214
Monte Anderson of Options Real Estate is a developer from the wrong side of town. Instead of fleeing for greener pastures and easier money, however, he stayed in his community and worked to make it better. Here's how he did it.
Feb 24, 2016•28 min•Ep. 213
Ian Rasmussen is an attorney, certified planner and an urbanist from New York City. He's also a board member at Strong Towns. And once upon a time, Ian and his family tried to purchase and renovate a mixed use building in Dobbs Ferry, NY. This podcast is all about the frustrations of a really intelligent and sophisticated person attempting to do something rather straightforward -- and needed -- and being stymied at every turn....
Feb 23, 2016•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 212
This week we're examining the impacts of federal housing finance policy, Chuck is joined by Christopher Jones and Sarah Serpas of Regional Plan Association, a New York-based non-profit organization that recently released a report titled The Unintended Consequences of Housing Finance . You can follow our ongoing conversation on housing finance at www.strongtowns.org/housing ....
Feb 23, 2016•32 min•Ep. 211
