The Strong Towns Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Do Highway Projects and Airbnb Rentals Help or Hurt Cities? Sep 29, 2025

Show notes

Chuck is joined by Joe Minicozzi, founder of the geoaccounting organization Urban3. They compare notes on the highway projects each of their cities is facing and discuss whether these projects bring value. They also talk about how Airbnbs affect the housing market and whether they should be taxed as houses or hotels.

Additional Show Notes

The book Joe and Chuck refer to at the end of the episode is "Overbuilt: The High Costs and Low Rewards of U.S. Highway Construction" by Erick Guerra.
Click here to watch the video version of this conversation on YouTube.
Joe Minicozzi
Urban3 (site)
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How Mr. Barricade Is Shaping the Future of Street Safety Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

How do you make streets safer without gentrifying an area? Will self-driving cars change the way we build cities? Are engineers tracking congestion the right way?

Chuck discusses these questions and more with Vignesh Swaminathan, a civil engineer and project manager at Kimley-Horn. Also known as Mr. Barricade, Vignesh has built a massive online following by making street design understandable and fun. As Chuck says in the episode, “This is not your grandpa's engineer.”

Additional Show Notes

Connect with Mr. Barricade:
- TikTok
- Instagram
- Email: vignesh.swaminathan@kimley-horn.com
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

We Broke North American Cities. Here’s How To Fix Them. Sep 18, 2025

Show notes

How did we go from building strong, prosperous cities to weak, debt-ridden ones? In this episode, Chuck tracks the cultural and economic impacts of World War II on our development pattern. He explains what must change if we want to build strong cities again.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

This episode is a recording of a presentation Chuck gave in Denver. Click here to see some of the images Chuck references.
Get the Finance Decoder.
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How Traffic Engineering Made America’s Streets Deadly Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

Why are America’s streets so dangerous — and what can we do about it? In this episode, Chuck talks with Wes Marshall, author of “Killed by a Traffic Engineer” and professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. From the history of traffic engineering to the failures of Vision Zero, they explore how design decisions shape safety — and what it will take to build streets that protect everyone.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Look Both Ways with David & Wes (Podbean)
Wes Marshall (site)
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

James Anderson: How to Encourage Innovation in Local Government Sep 01, 2025

Show notes

Chuck is joined by James Anderson, head of the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. Under his leadership, the program has helped thousands of cities worldwide embrace an innovative, people-based approach to local governance.

Today, Chuck and James discuss why local governments matter now more than ever. Then they explore ways that residents, advocates, and organizations can encourage city leaders to embrace innovation.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Building Strength and Connections in Pensacola, With Quint Studer Aug 11, 2025

Show notes

Chuck is joined by Quint Studer, the founder of the Center for Civic Engagement in Pensacola, Florida. They discuss Strong Towns’ involvement in Pensacola’s renewal and the Civic Leader Summit that will be held there in September.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Civic Leader Summit
Quint Studer (site)
Chuck Marohn (Substack)
Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

The Housing Market Can’t Tolerate Lower Prices. Now What? Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

No matter how easy we make it to build, the existing housing system is based on a financial model that cannot tolerate lower prices. If falling prices is the goal, then we need to build a system that can deliver on it. In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck explains how our current system prevents prices from falling and how we can build a better one.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Learn how to actually make housing affordable with the Housing-Ready Toolkit.
Chuck Marohn (Substack)
Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Playing the Long Game With New Zealand Infrastructure Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

In this special episode, Chuck is joined by Graham Campbell, director of Economics & Research for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. They discuss the true cost of infrastructure — and why both New Zealand and North America are facing the same financial and structural challenges.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Chuck Marohn (Substack)
Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

The Housing Crisis Is More Than a Supply Problem Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Chuck dives into the root causes of the housing crisis. Using clips from interviews with housing experts and reporters, he explores the popular theory that the housing crisis is caused by a lack of supply. He shows how this belief relates to the Strong Towns approach.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Learn how to unlock housing in your city: The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform
Hear more from…
Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Ryan Johnson: How Culdesac Tempe Develops Freedom, Revenue, and Belonging Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

Chuck sits down with Ryan Johnson, the founder and visionary behind Culdesac Tempe, the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S. They discuss the realities of living in and developing a community like Culdesac, from transportation costs to working with local government. Ryan explains how they maintain walkability in an Arizona desert, how they successfully nurture small businesses, and how they encourage people to embrace co-ownership of the community.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES