# Can American cities grow AND stay affordable?

An episode of [The Indicator from Planet Money](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1320118593), 15 Dec 2025, 9:09.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510325/npr.simplecastaudio.com/0a4e8d3b-fe23-4948-9e39-20fcf16f9331/episodes/85c2f511-17fe-4c26-81eb-70c7a37a5921/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=0a4e8d3b-fe23-4948-9e39-20fcf16f9331&awEpisodeId=85c2f511-17fe-4c26-81eb-70c7a37a5921&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5642653&p=510325&d=549&size=8791023

Cities like Austin and Atlanta used to top lists of places people moved to looking for relatively affordable places to live. Until, one day, they weren’t that affordable. On today’s show, how a low cost of living is threatened by growth, and how one sunbelt city in Alabama is planning ahead. Related episodes: Why Americans don’t want to move for jobs anymore How to build abundantly How big is the US housing shortage? The highs and lows of US rents For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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