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.
Behind the Scenes at the Strong Towns National Gathering
Live From the National Gathering
Parking Regulations Threaten to Demolish Coffee Shop
An Abandoned Downtown Equals a Pot of Gold?
One Reason American Architecture Is Considered Boring: Stairs
Cowboy Hotels for Housing Shortages
Homelessness in Rural America
High-Income Earners Are Renting Instead of Buying Homes
When a Building Is Demolished, What Should Happen to the Materials?
The 15 Minute City - A Good Life or an Infringement on Freedoms?
Whose Responsibility Is It To Ensure That Buildings Interact With the Public Realm in a Delightful Way?
We’re Getting Worse at Construction Despite Technology Advances
Portland’s Cully Neighborhood To Use “The One Ring” for Good
The Governor of Missouri Wants to Spend $859 Million on Highway Expansion
The U.S. Is Running Out of Skilled Labor. Is It Gen-Z’s Fault?
People Move to Places with Zoning Laws, Ergo Zoning Is Good?
Thanks for a Great Year
Homeowners Struggling to Get Insurance in Wildfire-Prone Colorado
These 3 Cities Are Eliminating Parking Minimums. Are They Going About It the Right Way?
Why Is It So Expensive To Build Public Transit in the U.S.?
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