Strong Towns Podcast

Back to Basics

Charles Marohn — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:00:42 +0000

Our own Chuck Marohn was a speaker at the 2012 Back to Basics conference in Pine River, MN. While he touched on a lot of the themes from the traditional Curbside Chat presentation, there were enough new concepts and ideas here where we wanted to share the audio. Back to Basics is an annual conference in Central Minnesota that focuses on local resiliency.

Podcast Short: Shared Space

Charles Marohn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:51 +0000

The concept of building shared space within the public realm is a radical one here in the United States, where automobiles are not only given priority, but completely dominate most public spaces. With the financial insolvency inherent in our current approach becoming more and more apparent each day, there is a need to study alternatives. The shared space model -- while a dramatic departure from the status quo -- can help us build Strong Towns while making our urban neighborhoods safer in the process.

KunstlerCast

Charles Marohn — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:11:17 +0000

Duncan Crary is the author of the book the KuntlerCast: Conversations with James Howard Kunstler, host of a podcast of the same name, publisher, business owner, town crier and all around good guy.

Duncan sat down for a long interview with Chuck Marohn. They talk about Duncan's new book, working with Jim Kunstler, living in Troy, NY, being part of Generation X, the future of going local in a small town, grilling asparagus and many other topics.

We highly recommend the book, which is a fun and informative read. It can be purchased at "all the usual places".

Podcast Short: Incoherent Advice

Charles Marohn — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:40:21 +0000

One of the primary obstacles many public officials need to overcome if they are to build a Strong Town is the advice of their professionals. The planning, engineering and economic development professions have found all kinds of coping mechanisms that allow them to continue the suburban experiment. If one has a mind to look, the incoherence in their advice is usually not hard to identify.

Taco John's

Charles Marohn — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:56:30 +0000

Chuck and Justin discuss the auto-oriented development pattern, how it has failed to bring prosperity to one neighborhood and why. They also get into a discussion about what should be done differently to create value.

Diverging Diamond Redux

Charles Marohn — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:43:39 +0000

Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns is joined by Justin Burslie -- the "every man" kindly standing in for the critics in this instance -- to talk about the Diverging Diamond series that ran on the blog in November. They talk about the videos, the need for the interchange, how Missouri Highway 13 (and STROADS like them) are the "futon" of transportation corridors and what can be done about it. Also, a special end-of-year wish for our listeners.

Podcast Short: A 45 mph world

Charles Marohn — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:41:42 +0000

We've built a 45 mile per hour world, one that moves too slow to be efficient yet too fast to provide a platform for value. Our transportation system embraces mediocrity, not from a lack of resources, but from a lack of focus. We must quit fooling ourselves, understand what it means to really create value in a transportation system and commit ourselves to building Strong Towns.

Koeping with Government

Charles Marohn — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:00:31 +0000

Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns sits down with Brainerd City Council member, and local planning critic, Mary Koep, on her radio show Koeping with Government. Listen and hear how the Strong Towns message can ultimately find support even from someone predisposed to be against any level of community planning.

Give to the Max Podcast

Charles Marohn — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:17:13 +0000

Strong Towns Executive Director Charles Marohn makes an appeal to podcast listeners as part of an annual fundraising effort. You can support Strong Towns financially by going to www.strongtowns.org/donate.

Greece, OWS and the American City

Charles Marohn — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:04:15 +0000

In our latest podcast, Chuck Marohn takes a look at what is going on in Greece and how the assumptions and actions that caused the Greek situation relate to the Occupy Wall Street movement and ultimately will impact the ability of America's cities to finance more growth through debt.

Show Notes:

Mark Blyth on Radio Open Source with Christopher Lydon

Nassim Taleb on OWS and the "Second Generation Marxist Class Struggle"

Boomerang by Michael Lewis, also available on Audible

Michael Lewis on Fareed Zakaria GPS