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.
Author James Howard Kunstler chats with Chuck Marohn about the newest book in his World Made by Hand series, The Harrows of Spring . You can also listen to James Kunstler in previous Strong Towns podcasts including from February, 2014 , September 2014 and November 2015 ....
Chuck and Rachel discuss their holidays, favorite books they read over the break, and infrastructure spending in America. They also share an exciting announcement at the end of the podcast. Mentioned in this podcast: The Road to Ruin: The Global Elites' Secret Plan for the Next Financial Crisis by James Rickerts The Content Trap: A Strategist's Guide to Digital Change by Bharat Andand The Road Taken: The History and Future of America's Infrastructure by Henry Petroski When Breath Becomes Air by ...
Seth Zeren is a founding member of Strong Towns, a new father and a real estate developer based in Providence, RI. In this podcast conversation, Seth and Chuck talk about the results of the election and its impact on the national dialogue. This is our last podcast of 2016. Thank you to all our listeners. Have a wonderful holiday and we'll see you in the new year!
In the final Week Ahead podcast of 2016, Chuck and Rachel discuss their recent trip to Chicago and a spirited panel discussion Chuck participated in. They also talk about Chuck's Monday article and the Best of 2016 articles being published throughout the week. Finally, they chat about the upcoming Strong Towns Summit and Chuck's cookie baking adventures. Mentioned in this podcast: "Our Shared Journey" by Chuck Marohn Best of 2016 articles Strong Towns National Summit...
Heyden Black Walker is a Strong Towns "super member" in Austin, TX. She's an urban planner and advocate and serves on the board of the CNU-Central Texas Chapter and on the City of Austin Pedestrian Advisory Council . Today, Chuck Marohn and Heyden Walker discuss the highway I-35 project in Austin, which Heyden wrote about on Strong Towns earlier this year. They talk about the implications of a surge in federal infrastructure spending and the local impacts of federal spending in places like Austi...
Thomas Fisher is a Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota, and serves as Director of the Metropolitan Design Center . He's a graduate of Cornell University in architecture and the author of several books including Designing to Avoid Disaster and Designing our Way to a Better World . In this conversation with Chuck Marohn, Professor Fisher discusses a design-thinking approach of bottom-up vs. top-down decisionmaking, and the danger of building the wrong types of in...
Kyle Smith is an independent urban planning consultant in transportation, land use, and housing. He recently served as Executive Director of the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce in Chicago and also worked for the Center of Neighborhood Technology where he wrote a report called “ Stalled Out: How Empty Parking Spaces Diminish Neighborhood Affordability .” Rachel Quednau interviews Kyle for the Strong Towns podcast to discuss the results of this report as well as better parking strategies that wi...
Chuck and Rachel discuss last week's member drive and an event in St. Mary's, PA, plus this week's Black Friday Parking event . MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: Strong Towns member testimonials #BlackFridayParking
Chuck, while driving through a Minnesota blizzard, shares some reflections on small town America, the tension between urban and rural areas and the Strong Towns movement. Become a member of Strong Towns at www.strongtowns.org/membership .
As part of our membership drive, Chuck Marohn invited Strong Towns members to submit their questions—any question—and today, on a late-night, Mountain Dew-fueled podcast, he's answering them. Become a member of Strong Towns today. To see a list of the questions answered in this podcast, visit this page: www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/11/16/chuck-answers-your-questions
On Day 2 of our member drive , Chuck sits down with the two youngest Strong Towns advocates.
This episode kicks off a week of Member Drive-related podcasts. Today, Chuck and Rachel talk about the importance of the Strong Towns movement, especially in light of the recent presidential election. They also chat about what their most proud of from Strong Towns this year, and what they are most looking forward to in 2017. This episode spells out exactly why Strong Towns needs new members and what their contributions will be used for. BECOME A MEMBER OF STRONG TOWNS . Mentioned in this episode...
After some travel and contemplation, Chuck Marohn offers some thoughts on the presidential election, Strong Towns and the future of America.
In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with Gracen Johnson , a Strong Towns contributor and member who wrote an essay for our new book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Rachel Quednau interviews Gracen Johnson about making the hard decision to move to a new town, plus her recent wedding, her work with the Incremental Development Alliance and her philosophy that "love will save this place." Get your copy of our new book today. Mentioned i...
Russ Roberts is a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and the host of the podcast, EconTalk . He's also starred in two rap videos about John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek, and is the author of several books, including most recently, How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness. In this interview, Chuck Marohn and Russ Roberts discuss the political appeal of infrastructure spending vs. the economics perspective. They also talk about how to ...
Chuck and Rachel discuss recent events in Madison and Texas, including a surprise meeting with the Mayor of Austin. They also welcome new members, chat about housing affordability in Portland, and invite listeners to participate in a Halloween Walking Tour . Mentioned in this podcast: Strong Towns' pitch deck (where the image on the right came from) "Spiking a Rising Tide" (Portland housing affordability article) "Halloween with Strong Towns"...
Chuck Marohn interviews Kate Kraft, the Executive Director of America Walks to talk about infrastructure spending and creating more walkable places across America. She advocates for a balanced, people-centered transportation system and discusses different ways to achieve that. This interview is part of our ongoing conversation on federal infrastructure spending .
Chuck and Rachel discuss Chuck's busy travel schedule from last week (Thunder Bay and Bellingham), and this week's Texas tour to San Marcos , Austin , Arlington and Fort Worth (plus Rachel's speaking engagement in Madison ). They also talk about Chuck's dental woes, new Strong Towns members, and housing affordability and transit issues. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: " Distorting Housing Prices " by Chuck Marohn Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime from Global Epidemic to Your Front...
As part of Bike Week at Strong Towns, we interviewed a long time member and friend, John Simmerman. He's the founder of Active Towns and travels around the world sharing his love of active living and promoting bikeability and walkability. John shares the many ways that towns can create a "culture of activity" in their communities—one that is welcoming and safe for people of all ages. MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: Active Towns Shed the Monster video...
In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with Nate Hood , a Strong Towns contributor and founding member who wrote an essay for our new book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Nate Hood chats with Chuck Marohn about pedestrian safety efforts—the good, the bad and the ugly—in his hometown of St. Paul, MN. Get your copy of our new book today. Special offer: We've extended the opportunity for new Strong Towns members to receive an autographed ...
Ed Erfurt is a long-time friend and member of Strong Towns. He recently moved to Ranson, WV and serves as Assistant City Manager there. Today, he discusses his perspective as a local leader in a small town on what infrastructure is worth investing in, how to get a real return on your investment and how to avoid getting "caught up in free money." This interview is part of our ongoing conversation on federal infrastructure spending ....
It's been a little while since we did a Week Ahead podcast, because Chuck's been on the road doing tons of events. In today's podcast, he talks about recent events in several cities in Oregon as well as Shreveport, LA. Chuck and Rachel also announce a new job opening . Finally, they dive into Strong Towns' newly-released book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Mentioned in this episode: Job opening Our new book Strong Towns' organizational sponsors Video tours of Edina, MN Upcoming ...
In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with Andrew Price , a Strong Towns contributor who wrote two essays for our new book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Andrew chats with Rachel Quednau about life in Hoboken, NJ, and takes a look back at two of his essays which are featured in the book. Get your copy of our new book today....
In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with Daniel Herriges , a Strong Towns contributor who wrote an essay for our new book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II . Daniel chats with Rachel Quednau about the inspiration for his essay, "Moving the Overton Window," his vision for the Strong Towns movement, and his experience as a masters student in the urban planning program at the University of Minnesota. Get your copy of our new book today....
Ray LaHood served as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009-2013. Prior to that, he served in the House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 18th congressional district. In this interview with Chuck Marohn, Mr. LaHood discusses bipartisan collaboration on infrastructure decisions and his views on the presidential candidates' position on drastically increasing infrastructure spending . He answers questions like, "If we're going to invest in infrastructure, where should tha...
Former Seattle Mayor -- and friend of Strong Towns -- Mike McGinn joins us to talk about the nation's infrastructure crisis and what he would do to make sure that a surge in federal infrastructure spending isn't wasted.
On the day of the first presidential debate, Chuck records a solo Week Ahead podcast to look back at last week's event in Knoxville, this week's event in Edina and a little annoucement on next week.
Jonathan Holth is a Strong Towns member from Grand Forks, ND. He's a restaurant owner , he's on the board of the downtown business association, he's an active citizen and he's a father of three girls. In this interview with Chuck Marohn, Jonathan discusses his work and vision for a better downtown Grand Forks, as well as his perspective as a small business owner and a parent, working to incrementally build a Strong Town. Jon and Chuck talk about local businesses, parking issues, housing and maki...
The Week Ahead podcast is back! After some technical issues over the last few weeks, we're in the swing of things again, talking about upcoming and past events, a recent #StrongSchools campaign , our ongoing #InfrastructureCrisis conversation and book recommendations too. Mentioned in this podcast: " Infrastructure Spending for Dummies " by Charles Marohn Knoxville event, September 22 " Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior " from the Great Courses American Character by Colin Woodard...
Steven Shultis is a long-time member of Strong Towns and a strong advocate for urban public education, having raised his own children in the inner city of Springfield, MA. In this follow-up to his 2015 podcast interview , he shares his perspective on raising a family in a walkable neighborhood and choosing to send his kids to an urban school, for Strong Towns' Schools Week . You can read more from Steven Shultis on life in a traditional urban neighborhood and urban education on his blog, Rationa...
