Charles Marohn, Strong Towns Founder and President. will be presenting on housing as economic development on September 30, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.

LOCATION: Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Library  |  DATE: September 30, 2025 

TIME: 6:00pm CT

Kansas City is no different from the rest of the nation in that it has a shortage of affordable housing and rising housing costs.

Chuck Marohn — founder of the Strong Towns movement and coauthor of Escaping the Housing Trap — offers a big-picture look at how we arrived at today’s challenges. He discusses why federal and state programs alone can’t solve the housing crisis, and how local strategies can make a meaningful difference.

Marohn’s talk draws on five years of research supported by the Kauffman Foundation and the Enid & Crosby Kemper Foundation, offering a housing approach tailored to Kansas City’s unique needs and opportunities.

Now in its eighth year, Making a Great City highlights how development choices impact the health, stability, and equity of our region. The series features leading national thinkers on city planning, design, and economics, advocating for smarter growth and more inclusive prosperity in Kansas City.