Asia Mieleszko
Asia (pronounced “ah-sha”) Mieleszko’s career defies easy categorization—from researching Ukrainian folk traditions to covering infrastructure policy, from performing on the world’s biggest stages to the most cramped basements. At heart, she’s a storyteller, driven by curiosity about how people and places become what they are.
At Strong Towns, Asia pairs analytical rigor with empathy to examine the forces shaping our built environment. As host of Stacked Against Us, she guides listeners through the labyrinth of housing, finance, and local governance, revealing both the systems constraining communities and the openings for meaningful action.
Off the clock, Asia can be found behind a camera, playing the accordion, or riding the rails across the country, always curious about the places and people along the way.
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This Maryland makeover is a cautionary tale of where “Complete Streets” fall short.
This is what happens when a city cares more about decades-old requirements than the small businesses trying to bring life to a neighborhood.
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The federal government promised to undo past harms. Advocates are disillusioned.
“We can’t just convert stroads into streets or roads... we need to change the land-use around these stroads."
“Once surrounded by homes, the residents of Kelly Village now lived at the confluence of—almost underneath—two major highways."
What if the only way to open your dream cafe involved demolishing half of it?
Oklahoma residents discovered their homes were in the path of a massive highway expansion through local news, not official channels. Now a court has ruled the turnpike authority deliberately misled the public.
What exactly is it improving?