The Strong Towns Podcast

Latest Episodes:

How Inner City Highways Bankrupt Downtowns And How We Rebuild Apr 27, 2026

Show notes

When planner Patrick Kennedy started asking why prime land near downtown Dallas was filled with parking lots and boarded‑up buildings, the trail led straight to an elevated freeway: I‑345. He explains how making a hard economic case for removal—showing that taking the highway out could deliver the highest return on investment with minimal traffic impacts—grew into the Atlas of Inner City Highway Impacts, a data‑driven look at 142 U.S. cities. Kennedy details how inner‑city highways consume acres of valuable land, depress nearby property values, and either clog up all day in thriving metros or cut through struggling ones at full speed, while federal funding formulas and induced demand keep pushing us toward more lanes.

Additional Show Notes

Patrick Kennedy (LinkedIn)
The Human Ecosystem (Site)
Atlas of Inner-City Highway Impacts (PDF)
"Adding Up What Urban Highways Really Cost", by Benjamin Schneider (Article)
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.

New Zealand Keynote Planning In A World Of Limits Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

Speaking to planners in New Zealand, Chuck Marohn connects the country’s adopted infrastructure plan with a global pattern of cities that have grown themselves into insolvency. He traces the shift from incremental, pre‑Depression neighborhoods to postwar sprawl and explores what it looks like for planners to stop chasing the next expansion and start making better use of what’s already built.

Additional Show Notes

Te Waihanga (Site)
Te Waihanga National Infrastructure Plan (Site)
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Why Persuasion Fails When You Lead With Data Apr 20, 2026

Show notes

Good arguments fail when they ignore how people feel. Chuck Marohn and Joshua Bandoch talk through using empathy, ethical persuasion, and values-based stories with everyone from public works directors to concerned residents. Their examples reveal why understanding fears and incentives often matters more than another chart or study.

Additional Show Notes

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Why Messy Cities Depend On People Who Take Action Apr 13, 2026

Show notes

Chuck and Kevin Klinkenberg explore why progress comes from people who stop waiting for permission and start doing things locally. They look at incremental developers, neighborhood groups, and the limits of top-down systems in cities like Kansas City. Along the way, they wrestle with incentives, housing, and how much order a city actually needs.

Additional Show Notes

Kevin Klinkenberg (LinkedIn)
The Messy City Podcast (Spotify)
The Messy City (Substack)
The Messy City (Site)
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Gas Taxes, Freeways, And What Washington Should Fund Now Apr 06, 2026

Show notes

Chuck Marohn and Tony Dutzik unpack the messy history of the gas tax, cross‑subsidies between states, and the moral story drivers were told about “user fees.” They revisit highway revolts, the rise of federal transit funding, and the long slide into Highway Trust Fund bailouts. Their conversation lays out stark choices for the next chapter of national transportation policy.

Additional Show Notes

Tony Dutzik (LinkedIn)
Call "Time Out" on Highway Boondoggles (Article)
Frontier Group (Site)
What Comes After the Interstate Era? | New Report (Youtube)
Read the Mission Accomplished White Paper.
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Balancing Big Experiments And Neighborhood Fixes In California Housing Apr 03, 2026

Show notes

In this moderated panel at the REACH Ideas + Action Summit, Chuck Marohn and California Forever’s Jim Wunderman tackle California’s housing crisis from two very different angles: maturing existing neighborhoods and building a brand‑new city. Together they wrestle with whether local reforms, new towns, or both can deliver real affordability in places like Santa Barbara and beyond.

Additional Show Notes

California Forever (Site)
REACH (LinkedIn)
Jim Wunderman (LinkedIn)
Jocelyn Brennan (LinkedIn)
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Why Infrastructure Maintenance Might Be The Real Megaproject Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

New Zealand’s infrastructure commission added up every sector’s project wish‑list—and found a bill voters could never realistically pay. In this conversation, Geoff Cooper and Chuck Marohn unpack the national plan that starts by centering maintenance and renewals, then shows how that shifts the debate over big new projects, growth on the fringe, and the pressure on public budgets.

Additional Show Notes

Geoff Cooper (LinkedIn)
Te Waihanga (Site)
Te Waihanga National Infrastructure Plan (Site)
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

From Service Cuts To Understanding City Insolvency Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

The conversation follows Michel Durand-Wood's path from noticing small local cuts—closed pools, rising taxes—to understanding his city as structurally insolvent. Along the way, he and Chuck talk about grants, debt, Canadian and U.S. examples, and why efficiency alone hasn’t fixed anything.

Additional Show Notes

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Beyond Supply and Demand to Housing’s Unseen Financial Forces Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

Chuck walks through three ways of seeing the housing crisis: supply, demand, and the Strong Towns view that grapples with “dark finance” and capital flows. He explains why campaign-style wins and single-variable fixes rarely deliver real affordability. The episode closes with a candid update on recent leadership changes and how Strong Towns has restructured its media work over the past year.

Additional Show Notes

Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

What Comes After the Interstate Era? | New Report Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

For years, the dominant explanation for America’s infrastructure problems has been that we haven’t invested enough. Yet federal spending on transportation is at historic highs, and frustration with the results continues to grow.

This report offers a different interpretation.

The Interstate Highway System achieved its original goal. The challenges we face today are not the result of failure, but of a system that continued long after its purpose was fulfilled. Understanding what comes after it is the work in front of us.

Additional Show Notes

‍Watch on YouTube.
Read the Mission Accomplished White Paper.
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

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