At Strong Towns, our mission is to spread our radically new approach to growth and development to as many people as possible. That's why we aren't available to consult with individuals or organizations—but that doesn't mean we can't help.
Once a month, we host Ask Strong Towns, a live Q&A webcast open only to Strong Towns members and select invitees. Whether you're the mayor of your town (as was the case for one of this month's questions!) a diehard citizen advocate, or just getting involved in making your place stronger, Ask Strong Towns gives you a chance to ask your burning questions about our vision for change, and how the Strong Towns approach might apply in your unique place—and give us a chance to share our answer with the world, so it might help other Strong Citizens.
Here’s the video (and audio, if the podcast is more your style) from our August 2019 installment of Ask Strong Towns with founder and president Chuck Marohn and communications director Kea Wilson.
This Month’s Questions Answered
2:15 — What do you think is the cause of the affordable housing crisis, and the mismatch between housing costs and people’s incomes. And what is a Strong Towns response to this crisis?
12:00 — How do cities calculate their ability to pay for infrastructure maintenance? How do they know if they’ve built too much and should be worried about the long-term liabilities?
19:20 — My county has been issuing bonds to pay for major projects. As a wealthy county, I’m surprised to find out how reliant we are on this tool. Is it unfair to look at bonds as unequivocally bad for building a strong town?
23:40 — I live in a lakeshore community where almost 40% of our homes are second homes, and we’re now allowing short-term vacation rentals as well. How do vacation homes and vacation rentals impact our community and our ability to be a strong place?
35:00 — What does Strong Towns think about municipally-owned endeavors designed primarily to produce revenue, such as rec centers or golf courses?
45:05 — How do we get Chuck Marohn to visit our community to assess how we can become a stronger town and educate local officials on the benefits?
Alex Alsup: How Much of the U.S.'s Housing Stock Is Locally Owned?
Where Strong Towns Stands As We Enter Another Election Year
A Chat With Barkha Patel, Who Helped Achieve Zero Traffic Deaths in Jersey City
Why We Need To Show Empathy Toward Drivers in Conversations About Street Safety
Benjamin Herold: The Unraveling of America’s Suburbs
What Is the Role of Philanthropy in Building Stronger Towns?
Sam Quinones: Recovering Addicts Are Having a Bottom-Up Revolution in This Small Kentucky Town
Tony Jordan and Chris Meyer: Pushing for People Over Parking
Eric Goldwyn: Why U.S. Transit Is So Expensive (and How To Fix It)
Meet the Freeway Fighters Who Are Suing the Texas Department of Transportation
Shima Hamidi: Narrow Lanes Save Lives
Minnesota Introduces First-in-the-Nation Bill To Eliminate Minimum Parking Mandates Statewide
Where Is Sprawl Good? (Featuring Joe Minicozzi)
Reading Member Comments—Live From Buc-ee’s!
We’re Seeing a Groundswell of People Doing Amazing Things in Their Communities
We Must Become More Sensitive to the Stress Our Cities Are Under
Seth Kaplan: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time
Conor Semler: A New Decision-Making Framework for Street Design
Strong Towns Is Jane Jacobs in Action
The Arguments for Speed Cameras…and Why They Don’t Hold Up
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