The Strong Towns Podcast
Strong Towns
300 episodes
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.
Episodes page 1 of 6
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How Do We Design for Drivers?
Drivers are usually treated as the obstacle when cities try to build better places for walking, biking and transit. Houssam Elokda of Happy Cities and Nick Falbo of Mobycon argue that this framing misses something…
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Massachusetts Is Putting Starter Homes on the Ballot
Massachusetts voters are being asked a surprisingly simple housing question: Should a single-family home be legal on a 5,000-square-foot lot with public sewer and water? Chuck talks with Andrew Mikula, a Boston policy…
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What Comes After Cities Kill Parking Mandates?
Parking reform used to feel like a niche fight. Now North Carolina has eliminated most parking mandates statewide, cities are following one another’s lead, and Tony Jordan says he sometimes finds out about reforms only…
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Is Homeownership Still Part of the American Dream?
If housing feels impossibly expensive, one answer is that a smaller home, a less in-demand place, or a slower climb may simply be part of starting out and working your way up. But what if getting the house that has…
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Chuck’s Engineering Lawsuit Finally Has a Ruling
After six years of legal fights, we finally have a federal court ruling in Chuck’s dispute with Minnesota’s engineering licensing board. Chuck and Strong Towns executive director John Reuter go back to the complaint…
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Chuck on Data Centers, YIMBYs and E-Bikes
Strong Towns members filled the Commons with questions, and Chuck sat down to answer as many as he could. Should cities require data centers to pay for their own eventual cleanup? Has Strong Towns been too wary of the…
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The $1 Trillion Infrastructure Backlog Cities Aren’t Counting
A strong bond rating can tell investors that a city is likely to repay its debt. It says much less about whether that city can afford to replace the roads, pipes, and other infrastructure its residents depend on.…
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This Atlanta Corridor Makes Walking Normal and Deadly
Atlanta’s Buford Highway supports apartment communities, small businesses, and an international food scene that draws people from across the region. It also carries six to eight lanes of fast traffic, and drivers use…
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America’s Half-Funded Highway System
The Highway Trust Fund brings in roughly $45 billion a year and spends closer to $80 billion. Congress keeps the system running by borrowing the difference and moving that money into a program still treated as if road…
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A Better Block Versus Years of Planning
Cities often spend years studying a street before making a change, only to discover that the public is reacting to plans no one has actually experienced. Krista Nightengale, executive director of Better Block, explains…
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The Transit Tradeoff No City Can Escape
Putting a route near every community sounds fair until the buses only arrive once an hour. Jarrett Walker, author of Human Transit and principal of the firm helping Des Moines rethink its bus network, explains why…
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Why Great Streets Are Not Enhancements
Street trees, benches, slower speeds, and beautiful proportions are often treated as extras, added only after the “real” engineering work is done. Victor Dover argues that this gets the whole assignment wrong. In this…
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The Deadly Road Design We Keep Defending
Pedestrian deaths have climbed sharply since 2009, yet transportation agencies often point to small, recent dips as proof that things are getting better. Beth Osborne, president and CEO of Smart Growth America, returns…
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Inside the Strong Towns Leadership Transition
Strong Towns has always warned cities about the danger of fragile growth. Now, Chuck is applying that same lesson to the movement he helped build. In this episode, Chuck explains why Strong Towns can no longer depend…
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What's the Housing Crisis Beneath the Housing Crisis?
Lars Doucet digs into a problem that shows up in expensive cities, sprawling suburbs, and even countries Americans often point to as models: land. Monopoly, he argues, became frustrating by design because it captured…
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Rethinking the Federal Role in Transportation
Beth Osborne has watched the same story play out five times: a new federal transportation bill arrives with big language about goals and accountability, states adopt the right words, and nothing changes. Osborne, who…
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Illinois Housing Reform Gets Practical
Illinois is short roughly 130,000 homes today and needs about 240,000 more by 2030. The state can’t change mortgage rates or material costs, so Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois is targeting something else: the rules…
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The Neighborhood Outside the Church Doors
A trip to Italy left Chuck surprised by how ordinary Catholic life felt in a country filled with churches. A later visit to Hasidic Brooklyn stayed with him for a different reason: families living under intense…
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A Congressman Makes the Case for Local Power
Congressman Jake Auchincloss joins the the Strong Towns podcast with a case for localism that takes it seriously without treating it as a cure-all. He explains why localism deserves a bigger role in national politics,…
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Why Manchester’s Boom Isn’t the Whole Story
Is a city “dynamic” just because its charts point up and to the right? Chuck uses a week in the UK to question that assumption. In Manchester, a swelling population of 20‑somethings looks like success, until you notice…
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How Inner City Highways Bankrupt Downtowns And How We Rebuild
When planner Patrick Kennedy started asking why prime land near downtown Dallas was filled with parking lots and boarded‑up buildings, the trail led straight to an elevated freeway: I‑345. He explains how making a hard…
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New Zealand Keynote Planning In A World Of Limits
Speaking to planners in New Zealand, Chuck Marohn connects the country’s adopted infrastructure plan with a global pattern of cities that have grown themselves into insolvency. He traces the shift from incremental,…
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Why Persuasion Fails When You Lead With Data
Good arguments fail when they ignore how people feel. Chuck Marohn and Joshua Bandoch talk through using empathy, ethical persuasion, and values-based stories with everyone from public works directors to concerned…
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Why Messy Cities Depend On People Who Take Action
Chuck and Kevin Klinkenberg explore why progress comes from people who stop waiting for permission and start doing things locally. They look at incremental developers, neighborhood groups, and the limits of top-down…
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Gas Taxes, Freeways, And What Washington Should Fund Now
Chuck Marohn and Tony Dutzik unpack the messy history of the gas tax, cross‑subsidies between states, and the moral story drivers were told about “user fees.” They revisit highway revolts, the rise of federal transit…
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Balancing Big Experiments And Neighborhood Fixes In California Housing
In this moderated panel at the REACH Ideas + Action Summit, Chuck Marohn and California Forever’s Jim Wunderman tackle California’s housing crisis from two very different angles: maturing existing neighborhoods and…
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Why Infrastructure Maintenance Might Be The Real Megaproject
New Zealand’s infrastructure commission added up every sector’s project wish‑list—and found a bill voters could never realistically pay. In this conversation, Geoff Cooper and Chuck Marohn unpack the national plan that…
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From Service Cuts To Understanding City Insolvency
The conversation follows Michel Durand-Wood's path from noticing small local cuts—closed pools, rising taxes—to understanding his city as structurally insolvent. Along the way, he and Chuck talk about grants, debt,…
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Beyond Supply and Demand to Housing’s Unseen Financial Forces
Chuck walks through three ways of seeing the housing crisis: supply, demand, and the Strong Towns view that grapples with “dark finance” and capital flows. He explains why campaign-style wins and single-variable fixes…
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What Comes After the Interstate Era? | New Report
For years, the dominant explanation for America’s infrastructure problems has been that we haven’t invested enough. Yet federal spending on transportation is at historic highs, and frustration with the results…
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Humility Versus Hubris in American Urbanism
Why 95% of planners get it wrong, how monetary policy killed Main Street, and why Chuck Marohn is optimistic about Gen Z. This wide-ranging conversation, first featured on the Yeoman podcast with Geoff Graham, explores…
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Where the Strong Towns Movement Is Headed in 2026
In this year’s State of Strong Towns address, Chuck Marohn reflects on where the movement stands at the start of 2026 — what’s changed, what’s growing, and how the work ahead remains grounded in humility, restraint,…
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The Hidden Costs of "Improving" This Minnesota Highway
A major highway project is pitched as a safety upgrade — but at what cost to the community? Today, Chuck is joined by Matt Steele, a fellow Brainerd-area resident and longtime Strong Towns member. They unpack a highway…
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How Communities Are Breaking Out of the Housing Trap
Why is housing so expensive, and what can local communities actually do about it? In this live recording, Chuck unpacks the roots of America's housing trap and shares actionable reforms that any community can…
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How To Build Resilience in Struggling Rural Communities
Family farms are struggling to survive across America, with whole communities hanging in the balance. In today's episode, Chuck sits down with Brian Reisinger, author of "Land Rich, Cash Poor." They unpack the…
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How Cities Can Help Small Developers Build Housing
In this live Q&A, Chuck explains why small-scale housing is so hard to build. From codes to permitting to financing, he breaks down the friction points that stall projects everywhere and explains how cities can address…
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A Shared Identity Makes Cities Strong. Here's How To Find Yours.
Strong cities know who they are. In today's episode, Chuck is joined by Ryan Short, founder of Civic Brand. They discuss how uncovering a shared identity guides smarter decisions, strengthens civic pride, and helps…
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Why American Cities Are Going Broke (And How To Fix It)
Chuck breaks down the financial math behind urban decline in this live recording of a Wilmington event, with opening remarks from Delaware Governor Matt Meyer. Learn why growth is bankrupting your city — and how to…
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Has the "American Dream" Made Us Miserable?
Author Diane Alisa just wanted her kids to have what she didn't: freedom to roam, community, and a childhood that doesn't require a minivan. Somewhere along the way, she realized the suburban dream itself might be the…
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Momentum Is Building for Stronger Communities. What's Next?
Chuck records from the road after speaking at a housing summit in Pennsylvania. He reflects on why the Strong Towns message resonates with local officials struggling to address the housing crisis, as well as the…
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How Bottom-Up Action Is Connecting People Across the World
Strong Towns members are making their places stronger everywhere from the Bahamas to Mongolia. Chuck and Member Advocate Norm Van Eeden Petersman discuss how people in Colombia and Uganda can speak the same language…
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Did New Urbanism Win the Debate But Lose the War?
Can New Urbanists learn from suburbia's success? In this special episode, Chuck sits down with CNU founder Andres Duany, who shares big ideas he says the movement isn't ready to hear. They discuss how New Urbanism…
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How Strong Towns Is Scaling From Content to Action
Chuck sits down with Carlee Alm-LaBar, Strong Towns' chief of staff, to talk about what it's like managing a growing movement that's focused on action. Learn how the organization is evolving to help thousands of…
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What is Happening With Strong Towns? Strategy Discussion and Q&A
In this special Member Week episode, Chuck explores Strong Towns’ strategy, from its origin as a blog to its future in 2026 and beyond. He then answers audience questions about Strong Towns’ funding, his advice for…
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Broken Incentives Made the Housing Crisis. How Do We Fix Them?
Today, Chuck sits down with Laura Foote, executive director of YIMBY Action. They dive into America’s housing crisis, debate the future of zoning, and explore what it will take to fix broken incentives and build more…
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Housing Q&A: 16 Questions on Incremental Housing Development
Chuck Marohn tackles 16 real questions from city officials wrestling with the messy reality of housing reform. From a lack of transit to competition from big developers, he explores the challenges of getting more…
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Why America Can't Stop Building Highways We Don't Need
Since finishing the Interstate Highway System in the 1990s, the U.S. has added 75% more urban highway lanes — and we're on track to double it again. Erick Guerra, author of "Overbuilt" and professor of regional…
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What a Perfect Tuba Can Teach Us About Community and Resilience
Chuck is joined by Sam Quinones, author of “Dreamland” and “The Least of Us,” to talk about his newest book “The Perfect Tuba.” They discuss how a curiosity about tuba players turned into a deep exploration of hard…
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Short-Term Rentals Broke the Housing Market. Now What?
Chuck is joined by Joe Minicozzi, founder of the geoaccounting organization Urban3. They talk about the impact of AirBNBs and other short-term rentals on housing affordability, how our tax systems benefit rentals while…
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Want To Innovate Housing in Your State? Try Copying Michigan.
Michigan is on the forefront of housing innovation, with many cities throughout the state experiencing a resurgence in population and housing options. Today, Chuck talks with Dan Gilmartin, the executive director and…
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