The Strong Towns Podcast

Seth Kaplan: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time

On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, host Chuck Marohn talks with friend, author, and expert on fragile states, Seth Kaplan. His new book, Fragile Neighborhoods, offers a bold new vision for addressing social decline in America, one zip code at a time. It discusses the importance of revitalizing our local institutions and introduces the reader to some of the people and organizations who are doing just that—along with practical lessons for those who want to do similar work.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Get your copy of Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time.

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

• Seth Kaplan (website).

• Learn more about the 2023 Local-Motive Tour.

Conor Semler: A New Decision-Making Framework for Street Design

On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, host Chuck Marohn chats with Conor Semler, an associate planner with Kittelson and Associates.

Semler was involved in the development of both the National Association of City Transportation Officials’s Urban Bikeway Design Guide and the Federal Highway Administration’s Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide. He's also played a role in putting together a decision-making framework that changes the way engineers, planners, and other transportation professionals approach street design. Tune in to hear him talk about this innovative approach to transportation planning, and more!

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• “Parking or Pedaling? New Tool Helps Communities Weigh Tradeoffs on Their Streets,” by Kittelson & Associates.

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

• Learn more about the 2023 Local-Motive Tour.

Strong Towns Is Jane Jacobs in Action

Strong Towns founder and president, Charles Marohn, was invited to the Lit with Charles podcast to discuss Jane Jacobs’ seminal work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and the impact it has had on urban planning and the building of cities.

If you love Jane Jacobs or want to learn more about her views and how Strong Towns advocates are working to make them a reality, you will want to explore this conversation.

We have provided a full transcript to go along with the audio version, which we share here with the permission of the Lit with Charles podcast.

The Arguments for Speed Cameras…and Why They Don’t Hold Up

On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, host Chuck Marohn talks about his concerns with speed cameras. Plenty of people dislike speed cameras as surveillance devices and, conversely, many urbanists support the use of speed cameras as a tool to make streets safer.

Chuck’s line of thinking falls into neither of these camps, and so today, he shares some of the top arguments in favor of speed cameras, and discusses why they don't hold up—and why speed cameras should not be seen as part of the solution for improving our streets.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

• Learn more about the 2023 Local-Motive Tour.

• Cover image source: Wikimedia Commons/Dmitry G.

Steve Mouzon: How Do We Rebuild Maui?

In light of the recent wildfires in Maui (and other parts of Hawaii), this week’s Strong Towns Podcast episode features a conversation with Steve Mouzon, author of The Original Green and member of the Strong Towns Advisory Board.

Mouzon’s work with recovery efforts after disasters in Haiti and Jamaica—as well as his observations of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans—has offered him valuable insight on what it takes for a community to recover from large-scale destruction. He talks with podcast host Chuck Marohn about his experiences and the lessons we can take away about what types of responses do and don’t work—lessons that could be helpful in rebuilding Maui.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Steve Mouzon (Twitter).

• Original Green (website).

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

• Learn more about the 2023 Local-Motive Tour.

Walkable City Design Is Critical for Economic Health

After World War II, the U.S. embarked on an experiment in how we build cities. Instead of creating places scaled to people who walked, we built suburbs that focused on moving cars quickly and efficiently. Many cities in North America are looking to become walkable again, but it’s not easy. Time and time again, change makers are hit by bureaucracy and complicated logistics. 

Why is it so difficult to change? In “Urban Intercurrence: The Struggle to Build Walkable Downtowns in Car-Dependent Suburbia,” author Tristan Cleveland goes in depth about why cities struggle to retrofit their car dependence, and what could actually be done to create change.

In this Strong Towns Podcast, host Chuck Marohn chats with Tristan Cleveland, PhD, who is a Strong Towns member and an urban planner at Happy Cities. 

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Tristan Cleveland (Twitter).

• Read Tristan’s PhD thesis on how to redesign suburban communities to become healthy, walkable places.

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

• Learn more about the 2023 Local-Motive Tour.

Citizen Versus Developer? No! It’s Citizen As Developer.

Recently, an article came out of Medicine Hat, Alberta, reflecting on some development conversations happening within the city, inspired by Strong Towns presentations. When Chuck Marohn read the article, he felt core insights were missing or misunderstood within the piece.

On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck discusses the challenges faced by local journalists and the impact it has on the quality of reporting. He shares his personal experience with his wife, who is a reporter, and highlights the difficulties they encounter in producing articles with limited resources and tight deadlines.

Additionally, Chuck delves into the topic of citizen-led development and its potential to reshape cities in a more financially resilient manner. Throughout the podcast, he emphasizes the need for public engagement and the importance of creating neighborhoods that evolve and improve over time.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Learn more about the Community Action Lab in Medicine Hat.

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

Four Communities Are Becoming Examples of Change

Change is not always easy, and without examples, it can be difficult to reimagine how we do things. That’s just one of the reasons Strong Towns decided to launch the Community Action Lab: a carefully customized, two-year relationship between Strong Towns and selected cities seeking to make a change. Four cities are currently leading the way through this program in applying Strong Towns concepts and ideas from the bottom up.

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck talks about the Community Action Lab, and some of the experiences, conversations, and insights he’s gained while working with these four communities. 

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Learn more about The Community Action Lab.

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

From 500 to 5,000: What Strong Towns Members Are Doing to Make Their Places Better

Just a couple weeks ago, we got the opportunity to meet nearly 500 Strong Towns members for the first time at the Strong Towns National Gathering. It is evident that Strong Towns members are people who care deeply about their place: We heard so many compelling stories about people working to make their town stronger.

In this podcast, as part of our Member Week, we wanted to share Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn’s introductory speech from the Gathering. Tune in to hear him talk about some of the amazing things that Strong Towns members are doing in their communities. 

Our members are crucial to everything that happens at Strong Towns. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. If you haven’t already, take a moment to become a Strong Towns member today.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).

• Cover image source: ZED images.

Dollar Stores Are Leeching the Economic Vitality of Communities Across the U.S.

A recent report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance reveals some shocking facts: In 2021, half of the new stores opened in the U.S. were chain dollar stores. Moreover, Dollar Store and Dollar Tree (which are part of the Family Dollar system) together operate more than 34,000 stores. That’s more than McDonald’s, Starbucks, Target, and Walmart combined.

How did we get to this point, how does this transformation in retail affect local economies, and what can communities do to protect themselves from this "dollar store invasion”? Stacey Mitchell, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and one of the authors of the aforementioned report, joins Chuck Marohn today on the Strong Towns Podcast for this conversation.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Read The Dollar Store Invasion report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

• Institute for Local Self-Reliance (website).

• Stacey Mitchell (Twitter).

• Chuck Marohn (Twitter).