Upzoned

Latest Episodes:

Is the American Dream out of Reach for Most People? Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss a Wall Street Journal article titled “The American Dream Feels Out of Reach for Most.” They talk about how inflation and high housing costs can put the American Dream out of reach for many people, as well as the trade-offs that people may be forced to make between different life priorities, such as career fulfillment and homeownership. They also explore the importance of strong community relationships in finding happiness.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“The American Dream Feels Out of Reach for Most” by Rachel Wolfe, The Wall Street Journal (August 2024).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

How To Build Better Places Through Small-Scale Development Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

This week, Upzoned host Abby Newsham and The Messy City Podcast host Kevin Klinkenberg are working together in a special collaborative episode. They are joined by Jim Heid, a Californian landscape architect turned small-scale developer, to discuss the real estate profession and why he thinks it can solve a lot of modern problems.

Heid runs the Small Scale Developer Forum and has a new book called “Building Small: A Toolkit for Real Estate Entrepreneurs, Civic Leaders, and Great Communities.”

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Fire Departments Can Help Make Streets Safer, and Here’s How Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the article “Huge Fire Trucks Are Making Us All Less Safe” by Collin Woodard. They talk about how North American fire trucks are unusual for their massive sizes, how accommodating such large trucks makes streets more dangerous and how fire departments could adapt to improve public safety.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Huge Fire Trucks Are Making Us All Less Safe” by Collin Woodard, Yahoo News (August 2024).
The fire engine created by Abby Newsham’s ancestor.
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Why Cities Need To Become More Family Friendly Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about the rapid population decline of children under five years old in large urban areas. They discuss the factors that can drive would-be urban families out of cities, how the rapidly declining population will affect services like schools and the importance of cities being able to accommodate diverse lifestyles in a dynamic way.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“The Urban Family Exodus Is a Warning for Progressives,” by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic (August 2024).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

What Los Angeles Can Learn From Paris’ Olympic Village Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about the Olympic Village that was built in Paris and what the city plans to do with the development now that the Games are over. They discuss the accusations of gentrification and greenwashing that Paris officials are facing, the challenges inherent in trying to complete large-scale, sustainable projects on a deadline, and lessons that both Paris and Los Angeles — which will be hosting the 2028 Games — can take from past hosts.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Paris Hopes to Forge a New Model for Olympics-Oriented Development,” by Sam Levitt, The Urbanist (July 2024).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Indianapolis Empowers People and Drives Change Through Tactical Urbanism Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

Indianapolis officials are encouraging residents to be involved in improving the city, both through fund-matching programs and by opening a lending library of tools and equipment to help residents start pilot projects.

In this Upzoned episode, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about how Indianapolis’ programs and initiatives are a great example of changing a city’s bureaucratic structure and processes to better meet residents’ needs. They discuss the growing pains that come with this kind of change and the necessity of officials and residents accepting failure as part of an incremental, experimental process.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Indy puts more resources toward helping communities make quick improvements” by Lauren Kostiuk, WTHR (July 2024).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

How To Handle Small-Scale Development Finance: Insights From Kansas City Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Jason Carter-Solomon, an incremental developer and commercial lender in Kansas City, to talk about financing small-scale development. They discuss the layers of risk that small-scale developers must navigate, and Solomon offers his perspective and advice on facing common challenges, such as dealing with entitlements and building inspectors.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

You Don’t Actually Want To Abolish Property Taxes, and Here’s Why Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

This fall, seven states will have the opportunity to cut — or abolish, in some cases — property taxes, according to an article by Governing. In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the Strong Towns perspective on property taxes, the consequences of removing them and how most people (including city officials) don’t realize how much it costs to run a city. Chuck emphasizes that Strong Towns is not anti-tax and that taxes are essential to successfully running any city.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Voters in Several States Can Cut — or Abolish — Property Taxes This Fall” by Zina Hutton, Governing (July 2024).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Why New York City’s Traffic Congestion Plan Crashed and Burned Jul 24, 2024

Show notes

The governor of New York recently announced the dissolution of the city’s congestion pricing program after years of planning and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. This program would’ve initiated a $15 toll on vehicles entering certain parts of Manhattan, and it was partly established to help support reinvestment in the transit system. It was shut down less than a month before it was supposed to start operating — after all the tolling infrastructure was already installed.

In this episode of Upzoned, Chuck and Abby discuss how this debacle shows a fundamental misunderstanding of congestion pricing, the politics underpinning this decision and how the city could’ve handled things better.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“17 Years, $700 Million Wasted: The Stunning Collapse of New York’s Traffic Moonshot” by Jimmy Vielkind and Joseph De Avila, The Wall Street Journal (June 2024).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Faith in Action: How Religious Institutions Can Help Solve the Housing Crisis Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

You’ve heard of YIMBYs and NIMBYs, but have you heard of YIGBYs? YIGBY stands for “Yes In God’s Backyard,” and it’s a movement focused on leveraging land owned by religious institutions to alleviate the housing crisis. This has the potential to benefit both people in need of housing and religious institutions.

In this episode of Upzoned, hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the potential benefits of the YIGBY movement, the practicalities of implementing it, and broader mindsets surrounding religious institutions and what their land should be used for.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES