The Strong Towns Podcast

The Week Ahead: Don't be scared of dockless bikeshare

Rachel's guest this week is Strong Towns member and occasional writer, Alex Baca. Alex just published an article on Strong Towns called "Homeownership for whom?" about the flawed model of homeownership as a platform for building household wealth — and who is excluded by that model. Alex and Rachel discuss the position of homeownership in American culture and the economy. They also chat about Alex's thoughts on bikeshare and recent updates in the bikeshare world like dockless bikes and scooters.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Homeownership for whom? by Alex Baca
• Gerontopoly: Homeownership, Wealth and Age by Joe Cortright
• Strong Towns events in Peoria, IL
• What Cities Need to Understand About Bikeshare Now by Alex Baca (on CityLab)
• Here’s What You Can Read If You’d Like to Think About Cities In Exactly The Way That I Do — an extended book list by Alex Baca
• Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
• Follow Alex on Twitter @alexbaca.

 

Ask Strong Towns #2 with Joe Minicozzi

Today we've got the audio from a recent Ask Strong Towns webcast conversation featuring friend of Strong Towns and Principal at Urban3, Joe Minicozzi, and hosted by Chuck Marohn. 

You can watch the video from this webcast as well as see a list of questions covered here: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/4/30/ask-strong-towns-2-with-joe-minicozzi

Visit the Ask Strong Towns page to learn more about this webcast, submit a question and get info about the next episode: https://www.strongtowns.org/ask-strong-towns

The Week Ahead: A Chat with Strong Towns' Resident Nomad

Rachel's guest this week is Strong Towns Growth Manager, Max Azzarello. He discusses his nomadic lifestyle and the reason he might be settling down somewhere permanently soon. He also talks about why he drives a scooter and a recent book he's been digging.

Mentioned in this Podcast

• Public Murals for Positive Change - An Interview with Pasqualina Azzarello
• Ask Strong Towns Celebrity Edition feat. Joe Minicozzi (today at 10:30 am CT)
• May 1 event in Wichita, KS
• May 3 event in Chattanooga, TN
• May 9-10 events in Peoria, IL
• A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster by Rebecca Solnit
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Wild, Wild Country (TV series)

No Excuses

Chuck has been meeting with local leaders across the country for the last several months in closed door conversations. One question he often asks these elected officials and city staff is "What do you wish people understood better about your job?" He consistently receives a very similar set of answers: "We wish the public understood how difficult this job is." "We wish people grasped how limited our resources are." "We wish people appreciated how much we do and had a little more patience." ...and on and on. The truth is that wishing these things will never make them happen, he argues. City leaders have to do their jobs despite the lack of resources and appreciation. If you want to work for a city government and make decisions on behalf of your town, you will receive critiques and high expectations, says Chuck.

Here's the real question: How do you do the job despite these things? Hear Chuck's answers on this latest episode of our podcast.

The Week Ahead: Bon-Ton Gone

Rachel's guest this week is Chuck Marohn, and he recaps a recent series of events in Akron, Ohio as well as his article for today, The Real Reason Your Local Mall is Failing.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• The Real Reason Your Local Mall is Failing
• Join us for upcoming public events in West Grove, PA, Wichita, KS, and Chattanooga, TN.
• Strong Towns members are invited to attend our April 30 Q&A Webcast with special guest Joe Minicozzi of Urban3.
• Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

The Week Ahead: Announcing a Year-Long Initiative with Akron, Ohio

This week's guest is Strong Towns Development Director, Bo Wright, who discusses the organization's new partnership in Akron, Ohio, which will spur a yearlong conversation on how to make the city a strong town, supported by the Knight Foundation. Bo talks about what we hope to accomplish this year in Akron and why it matters to everyone — not just Akron residents.

Contact quednau@strongtowns.org if you have a request for a future guest on this podcast.

MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:

• Learn more about our work in Akron here: www.strongtowns.org/akron
• Join us for a Curbside Chat and meet-up in Akron on Tuesday, April 17
• If you're in the Akron area, please join our Strong Akron Facebook group to follow this conversation.
• The Long Game podcast by Jon Ward
• The Achievement of Wendell Berry by Fritz Oehlschlaeger
• The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap by Amy Sullivan
• Depolarize! Podcast

Visit www.StrongTowns.org/Podcast for the show notes.

The Spooky Wisdom of Incremental

Who is against you? That's a question Chuck Marohn is often asked when he presents Strong Towns ideas at events and in conversations. One group in particular is a growing voice in opposition to Strong Towns. These are the folks who say: "We really like Strong Towns. We like your ideas... But don't you see that the problems you're discussing are so big and intertwined with so many other challenges that we can't afford to act incrementally? We have to take major steps to solve major problems. Small-scale actions are not going to cut it here."

Today on the podcast, Chuck responds.

The Week Ahead: Rust Belt Towns on the Road to Revitalization

Rachel's guest this week is Strong Towns member and contributor, Arian Horbovetz, who blogs at The Urban Phoenix and lives in Rochester, New York. He discusses the universal challenges that Rust Belt towns deal with, his optimistic yet pragmatic view on urban revitalization, and his sociologist's perspective on these trends.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• TheUrbanPhoenix.com
• The Big Urban Mistake: Building for Tourism vs. Livability by Arian Horbovetz
• Join us tomorrow for a Strong Towns presentation and Meet-up in Thompsonville, MI
• The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism by Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak (also check out our January 2018 podcast interview with Bruce Katz about this book)
• The Impolite Company podcast

Ask Strong Towns 1

Every month, we host Ask Strong Towns to give you a chance to ask your burning questions about our vision for change, and how the Strong Towns approach might apply in your unique place — and give us a chance to share our answers with the world, so it might help other Strong Citizens. The live Ask Strong Towns webcast is open to all Strong Towns members, but afterward, we share the audio on our podcast.

Here are the questions Chuck and Kea discussed today:

1. What makes for a good urban road?
2. What are the key metrics which we can use to judge whether a town is strong? I know it's not the municipal bond rating...
3. I live in a city where the economy and population are growing. How can we build momentum for a Strong Towns approach in a place like this?
4. What are your thoughts on home-sharing systems like AirBnB and short-term hotels?
5. You present a simple and compelling argument for why our development pattern is causing our cities to go bankrupt. What factors are not being considered when we look at tax value per acre maps?
6. What needs to happen so that more people can be engaged in local decision making and planning processes?
7. My town has a walkable main street with some vacant land surrounding it. Should we prioritize strengthening our main street or developing the vacant land into something more productive?
8. What's the low-hanging fruit? Where do you start building Strong Towns if you're a regular person, not an elected official or leader? Just riding a bike to work doesn't seem like it will make a big difference...

Visit the Ask Strong Towns page to learn more about this webcast, submit a question and get info about the next episode: www.strongtowns.org/ask-strong-towns

The Week Ahead: Chuck's Thoughts on Autonomous Vehicles

Rachel's guest this week is Chuck Marohn who recaps a recent trip to Massachusetts and discusses his article today on autonomous vehicles.

MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:

• April 3 event in Colorado Springs, CO
• Automated vehicles will makes our streets worse by Chuck Marohn
• The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South by Radley Balko & Tucker Carrington

If you have a recommendation for a podcast guest, hit up Rachel at quednau@strongtowns.org