What Happens When Malls Start Charging for Parking?
What happens when something people have always treated as free suddenly gets a price tag? A USA Today article, “Shopping Malls Are Charging...
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Upzoned
Join Kea Wilson, Chuck Marohn, and occasional surprise guests to talk in depth about just one big story from the week in the Strong Towns conversation, right when you want it: now.
Episodes
20 of 118 episodesThis Tiny Backyard Home Cost $600,000
A Los Angeles couple set out to build a 400-square-foot backyard home for about $300,000, only to watch the final cost climb to $600,000 in...
When Did Letting Kids Play Outside Become a Crime?
A six-year-old rides his scooter to a playground a quarter mile from home. Two days later, Child Protective Services is at his family’s door...
L.A.’s 8-Mile Bike Path Is Now a $1 Billion Project
An eight-mile gap keeps Los Angeles from having a continuous river bike route through the heart of the city. Voters approved hundreds of mil...
The Water Crisis That Left a Small Town Abandoned
Hartman, Colorado, reached a point where it could no longer function as a town. Its water system was unsafe, every member of the town board...
What If NIMBYs Were Paid to Say Yes?
What if the easiest way to overcome opposition to new housing was simply to pay people to accept it? A recent article in The Atlantic argues...
When Boomers Don’t Downsize, What’s Left for Everyone Else?
What happens when one generation holds much of the country’s housing wealth and has little reason to give it up? Chuck Marohn talks with Str...
The Retirement Plan Trapped Inside the Housing Crisis
Americans have been told that buying a home is one of the safest ways to secure their future. But when retirement depends on home values con...
Chicago’s $1.2 Billion Parking Meter Problem
In 2009, Chicago traded 75 years of parking meter revenue for a $1.2 billion payment that helped fill an immediate budget hole. Norm Van Eed...
Can Rebuilding Make a Town Weaker?
Five years after wildfire destroyed most of Lytton, British Columbia, rebuilding remains slow despite more than $140 million in committed pu...
The Housing Crisis Isn’t Moving in One Direction
Chuck Marohn has long been critical of housing research that treats affordability as a simple supply problem. This week, he brings Andrew Bu...
Charlotte Said No to a $4.3 Billion Highway. Now the State Wants $60 Million Back.
When Charlotte and its regional planning body withdrew support for a $4.3 billion widening of Interstate 77, North Carolina lawmakers respon...
Why Do Vacant Storefronts Stay Vacant?
A decade ago, a row of North Park storefronts was cleared for a university housing project that never came. The businesses are gone, the bui...
The World Cup and America’s Own Goal
With the World Cup coming to North America, millions of visitors will encounter more than stadiums and soccer. They’ll also encounter the tr...
The Tuba and What It Actually Takes to Build Community
Sam Quinones keynoted the Strong Towns National Gathering last week and closed with a story about a tuba. If that left you wanting more, thi...
Are We Trying to Build No Houses?
A viral town meeting clip from Marblehead, Massachusetts, raised a question that goes far beyond one zoning debate: What happens when a stat...
When The Ribbon Cutting Is the Cheapest Part
Des Moines just approved an $8.4 million first phase for a $54 million park overhaul. The bid came in over estimate, and there's no maintena...
Inside the Politics of ‘Safer Streets’
What if the street itself did most of the work of slowing cars, instead of another sign or speed trap? Drawing on a new Bloomberg CityLab pi...
When Your City Feels Like Housing Musical Chairs
What happens when the American Dream stops meaning “doing better than your parents” and starts meaning “just not falling behind”? Norm Van E...
New York’s Bracket And The Politics Of Maintenance
In New York City, a playful bracket about broken hoops and dumping sites turns routine maintenance into a citywide tournament. Carlee Alm-La...