Johnny Sanphillippo

Johnny Sanphillippo has been a regular contributor for Strong Towns since 2014. He is an amateur architecture buff with a passionate interest in where and how we all live and occupy the landscape, from small rural towns to skyscrapers and everything in between. He travels often, conducts interviews with people of interest, and gathers photos and video of places worth talking about (which he often shares on Strong Towns). Johnny writes for Strong Towns, and his blog, Granola Shotgun. 

 

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RECENT ARTICLES BY Johnny:
Our On Again, Off Again, Infrastructure Future
Our On Again, Off Again, Infrastructure Future

Frequent power outages in California give pause to reflect on the overall fragility of our built environment.

Love the One You’re With
Love the One You’re With

When you’re not allowed to build the kind of housing you want, sometimes you have to work with what’s already here.

Learning From Las Vegas: Academic Taxonomy
Learning From Las Vegas: Academic Taxonomy

If we don’t dismiss Las Vegas as just a tacky tourist trap, what can we learn from its architecture?

High Water Victorians, Roosevelt Corner Shops, and Hipster Legos
High Water Victorians, Roosevelt Corner Shops, and Hipster Legos

This walking tour in Sacramento, CA, reveals much about its past and present challenges with housing.

The "Lickety Splits": Working Around High Housing Costs in California
The "Lickety Splits": Working Around High Housing Costs in California

Small-scale developer Johnny Sanphillippo shares tales of Californians employing simple, low-cost, high-yield measures to get by amidst the housing crisis.

Monopoly Hotels and Missing Middle Housing
Monopoly Hotels and Missing Middle Housing

In Monopoly, there are only two types of real estate: houses and hotels. But were hotels understood differently in 1904, when the game was first created?

The Carpetbagger’s Guide to Home Ownership
The Carpetbagger’s Guide to Home Ownership

Johnny Sanphillippo takes a break from writing about his current real-estate activities to talk about how he first bought property when he was younger and infinitely poorer.

From the Office of Dodge, Wiggle, Hack, Shrug & DeCamp, LLC
From the Office of Dodge, Wiggle, Hack, Shrug & DeCamp, LLC

Real-world examples of the administrative friction that holds back small-scale developers.

We Need More “Democratic Architecture”
We Need More “Democratic Architecture”

This architect demonstrates how there are so many places ready and waiting to become a part of the housing solution—if we would just allow them.

California's SB 9: A Slow Reversion to the Historic Mean
California's SB 9: A Slow Reversion to the Historic Mean

California's Senate Bill 9 has sparked controversy, mainly among owners of single-family homes. But are we returning to historic forms of housing anyway, with or without state legislation?

We Live in a "People Aquarium"…and the Water Is Running Out
We Live in a "People Aquarium"…and the Water Is Running Out

What can we do at the most immediate, local level when water reservoirs run low?

The Anecdotal "Buyback Effect"
The Anecdotal "Buyback Effect"

What can we learn about the housing market and corporations buying back their own stock...through anecdotal references? (As it turns out, quite a lot!)

Grandpa’s Basement House
Grandpa’s Basement House

Somehow, as a society, we’ve drifted from ordinary people being able to build their own homes on a cash basis in an interactive, iterative way, to immense, hyper-elaborate habitats.

Johnny Sanphillippo: The Trajectory of Suburbia
Johnny Sanphillippo: The Trajectory of Suburbia

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, we’ve invited back a popular past guest and regular Strong Towns contributor: Johnny Sanphillippo.

We'd Rather Have the Iceberg than the Ship
We'd Rather Have the Iceberg than the Ship

Exploring the property market in Appleton, WI, reveals the ephemeral nature of the North American development pattern.

The Suburbs Will Thrive or Fail on Their Own Terms
The Suburbs Will Thrive or Fail on Their Own Terms

The society that built Main Street is long gone. Is it time to move on to Plan B?

Potty Talk
Potty Talk

Let's talk about public facilities. What do they say about our cities and about the various layers of our society?

When Do Legal Restrictions on Homes Become "Takings"?
When Do Legal Restrictions on Homes Become "Takings"?

The “Takings Clause” prohibits the government from taking private property without just compensation. But what if it’s interpreted in unexpected ways?

All In Good Time
All In Good Time

Halifax spent decades pursuing the fragile-making suburban experiment. How should it move forward from here?

VUCA Waymo
VUCA Waymo

Innovations promising safety and certainty often make us more fragile and vulnerable instead.

The Machine That Goes Ping
The Machine That Goes Ping

From health care to the economy, the pandemic is exposing the fragility of institutions we’ve long taken for granted.

This Is the Great Reshuffling
This Is the Great Reshuffling

The fallout from the pandemic is spurring a housing re-shuffling in San Francisco. And not just from people fleeing the city—but people moving to the city and within the city.

"Not for Camera View"
"Not for Camera View"

An urban photographer reflects on the reactions he got when he started capturing what the American urban landscape is really like—parking lots, declining neighborhoods, tract homes, and all.

A Receding Tide
A Receding Tide

Towns and cities whose economies relied on tourism are in major trouble. Even when the economy recovers, these places won’t soon go back to business as usual. Nor should they.

If Cities Die, No One Will Be Immune From the Pain
If Cities Die, No One Will Be Immune From the Pain

Cities won’t die in a vacuum. When you see a vacant office building, what you’re really looking at is your pension fund going belly-up, a loan that won’t get repaid, services that will have to be cut.

The Other Pitchforks
The Other Pitchforks

Laws and rules often prohibit the very things that could make our neighborhoods more resilient. Like producing more of our own food — no small consideration during a time of social distancing and fragile supply chains.

Your Money or Your Life?
Your Money or Your Life?

We were vulnerable to a crash long before coronavirus appeared. We all made promises to ourselves and each other that we never meant to keep.

Recipes for Disaster
Recipes for Disaster

Tracing the origins of a single meal reminds us how vulnerable we are to disruptions in the global supply chain. How do we create redundancies at home?

Skinning Your Knee vs. Breaking Your Leg
Skinning Your Knee vs. Breaking Your Leg

A cautionary tale from the superheated housing market of San Francisco.

We're not going to build more Main Street towns. Here's one way to move on.
We're not going to build more Main Street towns. Here's one way to move on.

What if the “beautiful dream” of a Main Street urbanism isn’t available? What can be done to adapt that dream to auto-dependent suburbs? More than you might expect.

SanphillippoCharles MarohnContributor