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The Strong Towns Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Strong Towns
A weekly conversation on the Strong Towns movement hosted by Charles Marohn. The podcast blends fiscal prudence with good urban design to highlight how America can financially strengthen its cities, towns and neighborhoods and, in the process, make them better places to live.
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- 1 weeks ago38 min
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 that make homes hard to build. He walks through the Build Initiative, a set of bills to legalize more ADUs and small multifamily buildings, relax some parking and stairway requirements, standardize impact fees, and put limits on permit delays. He also talks about local pushback, bipartisan support, and why these modest changes could mean more housing choices without the sense that neighborhoods are being upended. Additional Show Notes Governor JB Pritzker (LinkedIn) Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
- 2 weeks ago46 min
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 physical constraints, yet ordering their lives around faith and community. Those memories frame this talk at a Catholic church in Minnesota, where Chuck turns from faraway examples to a more personal question: what would it mean for a parish to care not only for the sanctuary, but for the blocks around it? Additional Show Notes Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
- 3 weeks ago41 min
A Congressman Makes the Case for Local Power
Rep. Jake Auchincloss returns to 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, not as a slogan, but as a way to rebuild trust and solve problems closer to the ground. That idea gets tested against some of the hardest problems facing cities today: transportation systems that reward expansion over maintenance, a housing market that has lost its entry-level rung, and federal policies that often struggle to match local realities. The conversation closes with a warning about digital life and a defense of face-to-face community. Additional Show Notes Jake Auchincloss (LinkedIn, Substack, Site) "Digital Dopamine is Consuming America. It's Time to Fight for IRL.", (Article) Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
- May 4, 202657 min
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 how many smaller places have been drained to supply that energy. In one of those towns, residents speak of decline, crime, and the loss of their pub, even as few can name a moment they truly felt unsafe. Across focus groups, government programs, and carefully planned districts, he traces the same pattern and asks: when growth is easy to measure, what deeper dynamism are we missing? Additional Show Notes Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
- Apr 27, 202658 min
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 economic case for removal—showing that taking the highway out could deliver the highest return on investment with minimal traffic impacts—grew into the Atlas of Inner City Highway Impacts, a data‑driven look at 142 U.S. cities. Kennedy details how inner‑city highways consume acres of valuable land, depress nearby property values, and either clog up all day in thriving metros or cut through struggling ones at full speed, while federal funding formulas and induced demand keep pushing us toward more lanes. Additional Show Notes Patrick Kennedy (LinkedIn) The Human Ecosystem (Site) Atlas of Inner-City Highway Impacts (PDF) "Adding Up What Urban Highways Really Cost", by Benjamin Schneider (Article) Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
- Apr 24, 202644 min
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, pre‑Depression neighborhoods to postwar sprawl and explores what it looks like for planners to stop chasing the next expansion and start making better use of what’s already built. Additional Show Notes Te Waihanga (Site) Te Waihanga National Infrastructure Plan (Site) Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!
- Apr 20, 202645 min
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 residents. Their examples reveal why understanding fears and incentives often matters more than another chart or study. Additional Show Notes Joshua Bandoch (LinkedIn) How to Get What You Want (Book) How to be more persuasive (Tedx Talk) Joshua Bandoch (Site) Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!
- Apr 13, 202656 min
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 systems in cities like Kansas City. Along the way, they wrestle with incentives, housing, and how much order a city actually needs. Additional Show Notes Kevin Klinkenberg (LinkedIn) The Messy City Podcast (Spotify) The Messy City (Substack) The Messy City (Site) Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!
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About The Strong Towns Podcast
A weekly conversation on the Strong Towns movement hosted by Charles Marohn. The podcast blends fiscal prudence with good urban design to highlight how America can financially strengthen its cities, towns and neighborhoods and, in the process, make them better places to live.
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