If you’ve read our past coverage on how to solve a housing shortage, you know that Strong Towns is committed to promoting incremental solutions to get it done—but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our detractors. We get it; it’s not easy to imagine what an incremental approach to creating affordable apartments for schoolteachers in San Francisco might look like, or how building granny flats might make it possible for a grocery store clerk to survive in Manhattan. Especially if you’re new to Strong Towns, the word “incremental” itself might evoke words like “slow,” or “small,” or “timid”—while, in our humble opinion, real incrementalism is anything but.
That’s why, in this episode of Upzoned, we’re talking big housing increments in big cities—the good, the bad, and the well-intentioned but misguided.
Taking two recent articles for inspiration, Chuck and Kea talk Seattle and California’s recent newsworthy attempts to make a big leap in their housing market, and why one of them is doing something really right (and the other…maybe not so much.) First, we explore Microsoft’s recent headline-grabbing pledge (as told by the Seattle Times) to fill out their missing middle housing landscape by leveraging $500 million in financing and grants to homeless services programs to strategically target a few of the most intractable challenges their local developers face. And then we take on a California opinion blogger’s proposal in the Bay City Beacon to increase the state’s housing stock by 25% in just five years—without the aid of Bill Gates and his ilk. And the secret to accomplishing this gargantuan task might ruffle some feathers.
Then in the downzone, Chuck and Kea chat about their recent watches—including the OG television Sherlock and If Beale Street Could Talk—and the simple pleasure of going to the movies alone.
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Is the End of the Single-Family Neighborhood Near?
The Two Things Your City Needs to Do If You Want to End Blight
Why Our Housing Problems Don't Obey the Laws of Physics
Why does Strong Towns put *so* much emphasis on its members—and why is that so unusual in the nonprofit world?
What Would You Do if You Got a $5,000 Street Repair Bill in the Mail?
How Conservatives and Liberals Define "Fair"—and What It Means For Our Cities' Futures
Cracking Down on Pedestrians Won't Make Streets Safer
No, Revitalizing Rural America Isn't A Lost Cause. But the Way You're Thinking About it Might Be.
Can Any City Really Survive on Locally-Grown Food Alone?
Will Smart City Technology Really Make Our Places Stronger?
So Your Town is Building Lots of New Housing Units! But How Many New *Doorbells* Are You Losing?
Strong Towns: The Book is Finally Coming. But Why *Now*?
Why Does Your City Stop When It Snows?
Will Electric Vehicles Save the World, or Make Our Cities Weaker?
What Would You Do if the Government Put a Speed Limiter on Your Car?
What Happens When Algorithms Get Into the Home Flipping Business
Forget Gas and Insurance. How Much Does Your Daily Commute Really Cost You?
Accessory Dwelling Units Rock. But Should States Be Overriding Cities' Laws About Building Them?
Can Cities Like St. Louis Get Financially Stronger by Merging with Richer Places?
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