Recent publications from The New York Times and the Civitas Institute prove that years of work by the growing Strong Towns movement — by people like you — is successfully spreading a forward-thinking approach to building towns.
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Most of today’s property tax systems discourage productive use of land while rewarding neglect. Minnesota is considering a policy that would change that.
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Sean Hayford Oleary is a city council member in Richfield, Minnesota. Today, he and Norm discuss his efforts to reintroduce duplexes, reduce parking mandates, and support walkable neighborhoods. (Transcript included.)
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When cities fall into the Growth Ponzi Scheme, they prioritize rapid, short-term growth that strains city resources and reduces long-term prosperity. Residents of Bentonville, Arkansas, are feeling those effects firsthand.
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Chuck is joined by Shayne Kavanagh, senior manager of research for the Government Finance Officers Association. Kavanagh discusses the role of finance officers as “decision architects” and shares some tactics they can use to improve their processes. (Transcript included.)
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A couple in Arkansas are showing how small-scale projects can breathe life into downtown and make homeownership more attainable for the next generation.
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Tiffany is joined by Montana Gau, a Local Conversation leader in Denver. They discuss how Gau built the group into a registered nonprofit with several hundred members and how his role shifted from advocating “on the ground” to creating a space where others can more effectively advocate. (Transcript included.)
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Advocates must adjust the way they talk about city planning. Overuse of jargon and a strict focus on logical debate alienates people, but focusing on the concrete benefits of better urban design — or, even better, showing those benefits — can make change more appealing.
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In this episode, Abby is joined by Edward Erfurt to discuss the emergence of food deserts in the United States. They talk about the causes of this dilemma and ways that everyday people can address these food shortages in their communities. (Transcript included.)
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Public officials may feel forced to approve large, expensive projects. But in doing so, they are making high-stakes financial commitments with taxpayer money, often without fully understanding the long-term consequences. The results can be devastating.
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Travis Goedken is the city manager of Decorah, Iowa. He joins Norm to talk about the practices and reforms that are making Decorah strong, including making its budgeting easier to understand for residents and finding creative loopholes in restrictive state housing laws. (Transcript included.)
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An overwhelming amount of information without context can be just as opaque as secrecy. That’s why transparency in city budgeting isn’t just about making numbers available — it’s about making them understandable. One city official in Maryland is making it his mission to do just that.
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What cities have successfully financed housing at the local level? How does tax increment financing work? When should cities stop subsidizing large-scale housing projects? Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn answers all these questions and more in this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast. (Transcript included.)
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Denver wants to repeal parking mandates citywide. This will help the city fight the housing crisis by reducing the costs and regulatory hurdles of development.
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Ryan Andrews is the CFO of a small-scale development company and capital fund in Bend, Oregon. In this episode, he discusses the importance of local investment and explains how to channel the profits from housing development back to locals. (Transcript included.)
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For years, housing production has systematically privileged corporate developers while shutting out everyone else. But cities are starting to change that. In Tennessee, this change is taking the form of a new process for preapproved plans.
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In this episode, Chuck explains that we’ve created a political climate where you either take a chainsaw to failing systems or you refuse to acknowledge that they’re failing. He then shows how the Strong Towns approach offers a better way. (Transcript included.)
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Many of incremental development’s values — localism, quality and civic pride — align well with those of houses of worship. If faith communities embrace this model, we could see a wave of faith-based housing that complements the broader movement toward incremental development.
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David Jenkins is a city councilor and Local Conversation leader in La Plata, Maryland. He joins Norm to discuss his work with the city’s budget, particularly his efforts to share financial information in a simple way that lets residents participate in the budgeting process. (Transcript included.)
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Many city officials are struggling to provide affordable housing for their communities. In Denver, a group of city officials, community leaders and nonprofit organizations decided to try something different.
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