The Strong Towns Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Week Ahead, March 27, 2017 Mar 27, 2017

Show notes

Chuck and Rachel discuss the Strong Towns Summit, which begins on Thursday (and a few tickets remain for purchase!), plus they announce the winner of the #StrongestTown Contest. Chuck also discusses a documentary film he's being featured in.

Mentioned in this episode:

Strong Towns Summit
Summit transportation document: "A Transportation Revolution"
Strongest Town Contest
The Mandibles by Lionel Shriver
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
"Almost half of Americans have dogs. Do they also need cars?" by Gracen Johnson

The #StrongestTown Championship Showdown - 2017 Mar 23, 2017

Show notes

Today we’re sharing the audio from a webcast we recorded earlier this week with representatives from the two final towns competing in our StrongestTown Contest—Traverse City, Michigan and Guelph, Ontario. You can view the webcast here if you prefer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjqrxgoiLuc Make sure to vote for the Strongest Town in this final match-up by 5pm CT on Friday, March 24.

Cast your vote here: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/3/20/the-final-strongesttown-contest-showdown-a-live-webcast

The Week Ahead, March 20, 2017 Mar 20, 2017

Show notes

Kea Wilson (Strong Towns' Director of Community Engagement) fills in for Chuck Marohn on this weekly podcast hosted by Rachel Quednau. They discuss Kea's recent writing and an upcoming article she's working on about time banking in St. Louis, MO. They also provide some behind the scenes info about the impending Strong Towns Summit in Tulsa, OK and an update on the Strongest Town Contest.

Mentioned in this podcast:

The Cowry Collective in St. Louis, MO
Nebraska Bike Walk Summit and Meet Up where Chuck Marohn is speaking later this week
Strong Towns Summit in Tulsa, OK. Read about workshops here.
Vital Little Plans by Jane Jacobs
Dark Age Ahead by Jane Jacobs
The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack
Strongest Town Contest

Guelph, Ontario, Canada (#StrongestTown Contest) Mar 17, 2017

Show notes

Welcome to our third round of the Strongest Town Competition. We invite you to listen to this interview that Rachel Quednau, Communications Director for Strong Towns, conducted with representatives from a town in our contest, then make sure to listen to their competitors' podcast (Lafayette, LA). Once you've finished listening to the episodes, please visit www.strongtowns.org/strongtesttown to vote for the strongest.

Mayor Cam Guthrie and resident Mike Watt share about their town's fantastic location and famous festivals, as well as how they're handling the challenge of new growth.

See photos of Guelph here and read the town's initial entry here.

Lafayette, LA (#StrongestTown Contest) Mar 13, 2017

Show notes

Welcome to our third round of the Strongest Town Competition. We invite you to listen to this interview that Rachel Quednau, Communications Director for Strong Towns, conducted with representatives from a town in our contest, then make sure to listen to their competitors' podcast (Guelph, ON, Canada). Once you've finished listening to the episodes, please visit www.strongtowns.org/strongtesttown to vote for the strongest.

Carlee Alm-LaBar, Director of Planning, Zoning, and Development for the Lafayette Consolidated Government, discusses her town's unique culture, their strong connection with the local university and their take on planning for their financial future.

See photos of Lafayette here and read the town's initial entry here.

Valparaiso, IN (#StrongestTown Contest) Mar 13, 2017

Show notes

Welcome to our third round of the Strongest Town Competition. We invite you to listen to this interview that Rachel Quednau, Communications Director for Strong Towns, conducted with representatives from a town in our contest, then make sure to listen to their competitors' podcast (Traverse City, MI). Once you've finished listening to the episodes, please visit www.strongtowns.org/strongtesttown to vote for the strongest.

In this episode, Mayor Jon Costas of Valparaiso, IN discusses his town's collaborative nature, its thriving downtown and the impact of its local university.

See photos of Valparaiso here and read the town's initial entry here.

Traverse City, MI (#StrongestTown Contest) Mar 13, 2017

Show notes

Welcome to our third round of the Strongest Town Competition. We invite you to listen to this interview that Rachel Quednau, Communications Director for Strong Towns, conducted with representatives from a town in our contest, then make sure to listen to their competitors' podcast (Valparaiso, IN). Once you've finished listening to the episodes, please visit www.strongtowns.org/strongtesttown to vote for the strongest.

In this episode, Rick Brown and Russ Soyring of Traverse City, MI explain why their town's natural beauty, walkable neighborhoods and creative housing solutions make it a strong community. See photos of Traverse City here and read the town's initial entry here.

How to do the Infrastructure Surge Right Mar 09, 2017

Show notes

In a solo podcast, Chuck Marohn continues an ongoing conversation about infrastructure spending. (Listen to the first episode in this conversation, "Is there a crisis?".) Chuck discusses his letter to President Trump and the need to create a new infrastructure funding system, not keep dumping more money into the existing system. The key is giving local leaders the power to choose how that money is spent.

The Week Ahead, March 7, 2017 Mar 07, 2017

Show notes

In their weekly update podcast, Chuck and Rachel discuss the final article in Chuck's series about the economic impacts of the Shreveport highway project. They also dish about the current standings in the Strongest Town Contest and reveal how their brackets have fared.

Mentioned in this podcast: