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
Nov 20, 2024
Nov 20, 2024
40 min
In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Andrew Ganahl, managing partner of a real estate development company that specializes in urban infill housing. They discuss a Washington Post article about townhouses, exploring the benefits of this style of development and Ganahl’s own experiences with building townhouses in Kansas City.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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“The new American Dream should be a townhouse” by Amanda Shendruk and Heather Long, The Washington Post (October 2024).
Nov 13, 2024
Nov 13, 2024
45 min
Post-COVID-19, there’s been a resurgence of interest in mixed-use neighborhoods, leading some cities to allow for small corner stores even in neighborhoods that are otherwise residential only.
In this Upzoned episode, host Abby Newsham is joined by Norm Van Eeden Petersman, the director of membership and development for Strong Towns. They discuss the role that small corner stores play in local economies, the benefits of allowing residents to continue using and creating these kinds of businesses, and how to talk to your local government about allowing this kind of use in your own community.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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“The Corner Store Comeback” by Linda Baker, Bloomberg (October 2024).
Nov 6, 2024
Nov 6, 2024
58 min
After the collapse of a Florida condo made national news in 2021, new safety regulations were enacted, requiring nearly 90% of Florida units to be updated. This left condo owners and buyers blindsided by a large backlog of deferred maintenance costs with no money saved to pay for them.
In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn explain that this situation is an example of the Growth Ponzi Scheme, where maintenance costs are hidden by rapid growth until they eventually come due and bury people or communities in debt. They discuss the effect deferred maintenance has on individuals and communities and explore possible paths forward.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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“Why Owning (and Buying) a Florida Condo Has ‘Turned Into a Nightmare’” by Julia Echikson, The New York Times (October 2024).
Oct 23, 2024
Oct 23, 2024
48 min
In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by John Anderson, a builder and developer in Georgia, to discuss the Strong Towns take on “urban homesteading,” where cities sell derelict houses to people for $1 in exchange for a promise to renovate the property and live there for a period of time.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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“Can Selling Off Homes for $1 Solve Urban Blight?” by Rowan Bridge, BBC (October 2024).
Oct 16, 2024
Oct 16, 2024
46 min
In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss managed retreat, where the federal government buys land from people to encourage them to move away from areas at high risk for natural disaster. According to the article, to actually move the necessary amount of people, the government needs to increase its efforts by a factor of 200.
Chuck and Abby talk about the issues with this method of natural disaster management, as well as other common approaches like rebuilding disaster areas to be more fortified, and share their thoughts on alternative responses to natural disasters.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Ways to help Western North Carolina, suggested by Local Conversations in the area:
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“Retreating From the Coasts Makes Sense, But Our Current Approach Isn’t Working,” by Tim Robustelli and Yuliya Panfil, Shelterforce Magazine (August 2024).
Oct 9, 2024
Oct 9, 2024
51 min
The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a national deployment plan of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, a wireless communication tool that allows vehicles to transmit data on speed, location, road condition and other basic information. The DOT plans to implement this technology in 75% of the nation's intersections over the next decade or so.
In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Strong Towns Director of Community Action Edward Erfurt. They discuss how V2X technology works, the challenges and risks of implementing it, and the alternatives that cities can use to increase safety more quickly and cheaply.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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“The Moonshot Plan to Eliminate Deaths on America’s Roads” by Maria Clara Cobo and Fola Akinnibi, Bloomberg (September 2024).
Oct 2, 2024
Oct 2, 2024
1 hr 6 min
In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the article “Toward a New Way of Educating City Builders” by Seth Zeren, a founding member of Strong Towns. They discuss the many different disciplines that are responsible for shaping the built environment, the professional silos that often develop between these disciplines, and how a shift in management or the way people think about urban development as a whole could break down these barriers.
If you’d like to hear more of Zeren’s thoughts on city building, check out his appearances on The Bottom-Up Revolution.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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“Toward a New Way of Educating City Builders” by Seth Zeren, Build the Next Right Thing (September 2024).
Sep 25, 2024
Sep 25, 2024
1 hr 4 min
In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by small-scale developers Alli Quinlan and Bernice Radle. They discuss their experiences in the field of incremental development, how to make incremental development more feasible in your city, and the importance of encouraging women to become incremental developers.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Sep 18, 2024
Sep 18, 2024
58 min
In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss a Wall Street Journal article titled “The American Dream Feels Out of Reach for Most.” They talk about how inflation and high housing costs can put the American Dream out of reach for many people, as well as the trade-offs that people may be forced to make between different life priorities, such as career fulfillment and homeownership. They also explore the importance of strong community relationships in finding happiness.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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“The American Dream Feels Out of Reach for Most” by Rachel Wolfe, The Wall Street Journal (August 2024).
Sep 11, 2024
Sep 11, 2024
1 hr 11 sec
This week, Upzoned host Abby Newsham and The Messy City Podcast host Kevin Klinkenberg are working together in a special collaborative episode. They are joined by Jim Heid, a Californian landscape architect turned small-scale developer, to discuss the real estate profession and why he thinks it can solve a lot of modern problems.
Heid runs the Small Scale Developer Forum and has a new book called “Building Small: A Toolkit for Real Estate Entrepreneurs, Civic Leaders, and Great Communities.”