The Strong Towns Podcast

Why Strong Towns Won’t Cave to Election Year Pressures

It’s Member Week here at Strong Towns. As a special treat, we’re publishing three new episodes of the Strong Towns Podcast. In this episode, Chuck explains how election years affect a nonpartisan nonprofit like Strong Towns. It’s kind of ugly, but it doesn't change our mission.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Become a member today!

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

From the Bottom Up: How Members Built the Strong Towns Movement

It’s Member Week here at Strong Towns. As a special treat, we’re publishing three new episodes of the Strong Towns Podcast this week. In this episode, Chuck is joined by Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Strong Towns’ director of membership and development. They discuss the history of the Strong Towns movement and how members have brought it to heights Chuck never could’ve imagined — including spreading Strong Towns ideas not only across North America but across the world.

The movement’s grown so much, but we’re not done yet. We need your help to spread the Strong Towns approach even further, until every town is a strong one. Join us by becoming a member today.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

To Build Strong Towns, We Need To Change the Cultural Conversation

Today, we’re kicking off Member Week at Strong Towns. As a special treat, we’ll be publishing three new episodes of the Strong Towns Podcast this week. In this first episode, Chuck discusses the cultural shift that the Strong Towns movement is striving to create and why that shift is so essential to building more prosperous and resilient communities.

This is a bottom-up movement, and it needs your help to succeed. Join the ranks of people building a stronger tomorrow by becoming a member today.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Become a member today!

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

5 Things the Next President Should Do To Build a Stronger America

Strong Towns is a nonpartisan organization that’s focused on starting change from the local level, not the federal one. However, Chuck was recently challenged to come up with five things that the next president, whoever they end up being, should do once they’re in office. In today’s episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, he shares that list and explains why each item is important to building a stronger America.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• “5 Things For The Next President To Do” (article).

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

Prioritizing Safety in Street Design: A Conversation with Melany Alliston

On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses street safety with Melany Alliston, a project manager and civil engineer with Toole Design. They cover the role of engineers in creating safe streets, Alliston’s work with Toole Design and her experience participating in a number of Crash Analysis Studio sessions.

To hear more about street safety, join us on Tuesday, October 15 for a virtual press conference where we will release the report “Beyond Blame: How Cities Can Learn From Crashes To Create Safer Streets Today.” Representatives from Toole Design will also be speaking at the press conference.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Melany Alliston (Toole Design site).

• Register for the virtual press conference.

• Learn more about the Crash Analysis Studio method and the “Beyond Blame” report.

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

Rethinking the “Moonshot” Approach to Complex Problems Like Street Safety

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck talks about V2X (vehicle-to-everything) technology and how it’s an example of a moonshot — a big, risky gamble that promises an equally big reward. He explains why these big gambles often fail when applied to complex problems like street safety and how the Strong Towns approach differs.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Register for the virtual press conference where we will release the report “Beyond Blame: How Cities Can Learn From Crashes To Create Safer Streets Today.”

• Sign up for email updates.

• Learn more about the Crash Analysis Studio method.

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

Has the Highway Trust Fund Outlived Its Usefulness? A Conversation With Beth Osborne.

On this week’s episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck is joined by Beth Osborne, the director of Transportation for America, to discuss the Highway Trust Fund. They cover its history, how it affects federal and state transportation policies, and its potential future.

Before joining Transportation for America, Osborne served as a deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Transportation. She also worked in multiple congressional offices, served as the policy director for Smart Growth America, and served as the legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors’ Association.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Beth Osborne (Twitter/X).

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

What’s the Best Career for Someone Who Wants To Build Strong Towns?

In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck addresses a question he frequently gets from young people: "What educational or career path should I take if I want to build strong towns?"

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

Exploring the Role of Religious Institutions in Community Development

At the Table is a podcast that discusses how community-based ministries can contribute to the common good via mutual relationships, spiritual practice, simplicity and an awareness of God’s activity in communities. They recently invited Strong Towns President Charles Marohn to appear on an episode. It was a great conversation, so we’re sharing that audio with you here on the Strong Towns Podcast, too. Up for discussion today, the Suburban Experiment, the role of religious institutions in community development and what it means for those institutions to be good neighbors.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• To hear more about the role faith communities play in a strong town, check out this Local-Motive session on October 17: “How Faith Communities Can Use Their Location and Space to Transform Neighborhoods.”

• At the Table.

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

From Crime to Common Practice: How Fraud Dominates the Housing Market

In this special episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck talks about fraud in the housing market. He discusses how it manifests, how it gradually saturates the market and how it’s connected to housing bubbles. He then explores how fraud plays a role in the current housing crisis and how federal and private organizations are trying to combat it.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• "The Housing Market Is a Bubble Full of Fraud, and It’s Going To Pop.”

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).