Sometimes, a hot new story will cross our desks that we need to talk about right away. That's where Upzoned comes in. Join Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn, Carlee Alm-LaBar, Norm Van Eeden Petersman, and other guests to talk in depth about one big story from the week in the Strong Towns conversation.
Episodes
20 hours ago
20 hours ago
44 min
A Los Angeles couple set out to build a 400-square-foot backyard home for about $300,000, only to watch the final cost climb to $600,000 in a project recently profiled by Lisa Boone in the Los Angeles Times. Norm Van Eeden Petersman talks with Tamara White of Small Housing and Mary Coddington, founder of 12 Incorporated, about what pushed the cost so high. The couple chose an ambitious design and built on a difficult site, but they also had two major advantages many small housing projects never get: they already owned the land, and they were allowed to build. If the land and permissions were already in place, what made the price skyrocket, and how much of that complexity could actually be removed?
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- "A compact ADU built on a dramatic ridgeline ‘floats’ over L.A. and its Midcentury neighbor" by Lisa Boone, Latimes.com (August 2026)
- Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
- Tamara White (LinkedIn)
- Mary Coddington (LinkedIn)
- Articles mentioned and Downzone:
- Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.
This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
No comments yet. Be the first to say something!