The Strong Towns Podcast

Ed Erfurt is a long-time friend and member of Strong Towns. He recently moved to Ranson, WV and serves as Assistant City Manager there. Today, he discusses his perspective as a local leader in a small town on what infrastructure is worth investing in, how to get a real return on your investment and how to avoid getting "caught up in free money." This interview is part of our ongoing conversation on federal infrastructure spending.

It's been a little while since we did a Week Ahead podcast, because Chuck's been on the road doing tons of events. In today's podcast, he talks about recent events in several cities in Oregon as well as Shreveport, LA. Chuck and Rachel also announce a new job opening. Finally, they dive into Strong Towns' newly-released book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II. Mentioned in this episode: Job opening Our new book Strong Towns' organizational sponsors Video tours of Edina, MN Upcoming events in Thunder Bay, ON and Bellingham, WA

In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with Andrew Price, a Strong Towns contributor who wrote two essays for our new book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II. Andrew chats with Rachel Quednau about life in Hoboken, NJ, and takes a look back at two of his essays which are featured in the book.  Get your copy of our new book today. 

In this special edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we bring you a short interview with Daniel Herriges, a Strong Towns contributor who wrote an essay for our new book, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns, Volume II. Daniel chats with Rachel Quednau about the inspiration for his essay, "Moving the Overton Window," his vision for the Strong Towns movement, and his experience as a masters student in the urban planning program at the University of Minnesota. Get your copy of our new book today. 

Ray LaHood served as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009-2013. Prior to that, he served in the House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 18th congressional district. In this interview with Chuck Marohn, Mr. LaHood discusses bipartisan collaboration on infrastructure decisions and his views on the presidential candidates' position on drastically increasing infrastructure spending. He answers questions like, "If we're going to invest in infrastructure, where should that money come from? Who should decide how it is spent?" He also discusses his view on gas tax increases, and small-scale vs. large-scale projects. His book, Seeking Bipartisanship: My Life in Politics, is available now. This interview is part of our ongoing conversation on infrastructure spending

Former Seattle Mayor -- and friend of Strong Towns -- Mike McGinn joins us to talk about the nation's infrastructure crisis and what he would do to make sure that a surge in federal infrastructure spending isn't wasted.

On the day of the first presidential debate, Chuck records a solo Week Ahead podcast to look back at last week's event in Knoxville, this week's event in Edina and a little annoucement on next week.

Jonathan Holth is a Strong Towns member from Grand Forks, ND. He's a restaurant owner, he's on the board of the downtown business association, he's an active citizen and he's a father of three girls. In this interview with Chuck Marohn, Jonathan discusses his work and vision for a better downtown Grand Forks, as well as his perspective as a small business owner and a parent, working to incrementally build a Strong Town. Jon and Chuck talk about local businesses, parking issues, housing and making change in polite, conservative Midwestern towns.

The Week Ahead podcast is back! After some technical issues over the last few weeks, we're in the swing of things again, talking about upcoming and past events, a recent #StrongSchools campaign, our ongoing #InfrastructureCrisis conversation and book recommendations too.  Mentioned in this podcast: "Infrastructure Spending for Dummies" by Charles Marohn Knoxville event, September 22 "Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior" from the Great Courses American Character by Colin Woodard

Steven Shultis is a long-time member of Strong Towns and a strong advocate for urban public education, having raised his own children in the inner city of Springfield, MA. In this follow-up to his 2015 podcast interview, he shares his perspective on raising a family in a walkable neighborhood and choosing to send his kids to an urban school, for Strong Towns' Schools Week.  You can read more from Steven Shultis on life in a traditional urban neighborhood and urban education on his blog, Rational Urbanism, and catch his interviews and essays on Strong Towns too. From this week, here's Steven's guide to getting the most out of urban public schools. 

Chuck Marohn interviews Paul Stewart, the Executive Director of the Oswego Renaissance Association in Oswego, NY. It's a small town like so many others, that has lost population and jobs in the last several decades and is struggling to create lasting solutions to its economic challenges. Stewart talks about his transition from being a citizen rehabbing his historic home—to an activist who started an organization to help revitalize Oswego neighborhoods and preserve homes all across the city. He discusses the ripple effects of these home improvements and his vision for his town.

In this belated interview from Suburban Poverty week, we had the chance to speak with Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and co-author of the book, Confronting Suburban Poverty in America. Her work primarily focuses on urban and suburban poverty, metropolitan demographics, and tax policies that support low-income workers and communities. This conversation focuses on the causes of, impacts on and responses to suburban poverty in America. We dive into transportation struggles, challenges for the elderly, and the struggle to truly address this growing and hidden problem.

Rachel Quednau and Andrew Price debate the merits of one-way vs. two-way streets in this podcast. MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: 3 Reasons to Turn These One-Way Streets into Two-Ways by Rachel Quednau The Case for One-Way Streets by Andrew Price Small Bets by Andrew Price

Chuck and Rachel discuss Chuck's recent vacation, favorite summer movies, Suburban Poverty week and Chuck's recent essay about the future of the US economy. They also touch on upcoming events in Rockford, IL and Minneapolis, MN. Mentioned in this podcast: "Pain or Death? The View from the Balloon" by Chuck Marohn Movies: Jason Bourne, Hell or Highwater, Ben-Hur, and Ghostbusters Books: Jack Reacher novels, Between the World and Me, The New Jim Crow and Seeing Like a State Tomas Sedlacek and the Understanding Growth series Suburban Poverty Week

Rachel and special guest, Michelle Erfurt (Strong Towns' Pathfinder) discuss Suburban Poverty Week and dive into the event calendar for the rest of 2016. Mentioned in this episode: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

This week Chuck answers questions left over from an Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals web broadcast he participated in earlier this year. You will discover, if you didn't already know, that Chuck is not a fan of studies and technical reports (or the mindset that demands them).

Things have gone awry as Rachel takes a Monday off leaving Chuck and Strong Towns' Community Builder, Yuri Artibise, to talk about Iowa, the barbell strategy, the Canadian-based CitiesAlive podcast and the differing histories of the War of the Conquest (the French and Indian War). 

Chuck and Rachel discuss an upcoming event in Iowa, plus Chuck's recent article on semi trucks and why we don't actually need to build our cities around them. They also touch on some other recent Strong Towns stories and two excellent podcasts Chuck just listened to. Mentioned in this episode: "Richard Duncan: Creditism has Replaced Capitalism," from the McAlvany Weekly Commentary "Yanis Varoufakis’s Greek Tragedy," from Radio Open Source with Christopher Lydon

It's time to end the routine traffic stop. They are dangerous for public safety officials, create resentment in targeted neighborhoods and -- worst of all -- do not address the underlying safety problem inherent in speeding and other traffic violations.

The Week Ahead podcast is back after a few week's hiatus. Chuck and Rachel discuss the recent Big Box Stores campaign, Chuck's new house and recent events in Oswego, NY and Ontario. Also mentioned in this podcast: The Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth about the Nordic Myth by Michael Booth The Harrows by Spring by James Howard Kunstler