Is the City the Problem or the Solution?

State preemption can remove obstacles, but it can’t build the local capacity that's required for lasting reform.

MarohnCharles MarohnAugust 11, 2025Incremental Housing, state government, local government, housing crisis, localism

The Housing Market Can’t Tolerate Lower Prices. Now What?

No matter how easy we make it to build, the existing housing system cannot tolerate lower prices. Chuck explains why and how we can build a better system. (Transcript included.)

This City Councilor Is Making Cambridge Safer and More Affordable

Meet Burhan Azeem, a city councilor in Massachusetts. He’s expanded zoning for affordable housing, removed parking minimums, and helped build bike lanes throughout the city. Learn how he got here and what's next.

What Happens When Housing Prices Go Down (because they are)?

A reflection on affordability, finance, and the deep contradictions we refuse to face.

Want To Pass Statewide Parking Reform? Try Reframing the Conversation

In a game-changer for housing and small business development, Washington state eliminated or capped parking mandates statewide. Here’s how they did it.

Suburbs Broke the American Sunbelt. Now What?

Sunbelt cities have long prided themselves on having affordable and abundant housing. However, they’re now seeing housing construction stagnate and rapidly rising costs. Abby is joined by trained architect and video creator Rachel Leonardo to discuss whether these cities can course correct.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsJuly 16, 2025podcast, upzoned, Incremental Housing, suburbs, zoning

The Housing Crisis Is More Than Just a Supply Problem

Chuck explores the popular theory that the housing crisis is caused by a lack of supply and shows how this belief relates to the Strong Towns approach.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsJuly 14, 2025podcast, Incremental Housing, housing cost, yimby, housing crisis

Small-Scale Housing Wins Big in Bend, Oregon

How do you grow without losing what makes your town special? In Bend, Oregon, Jesse Russell is proving it can start with smaller homes.

Top StoryStrong TownsJuly 10, 2025housing crisis, housing affordability, oregon, Incremental Housing, infill

This Canadian City is Ditching Red Tape for Rowhouses

Calgary is cutting delays—not corners—to deliver more housing where it’s needed. And your city should be paying attention.

Top StoryStrong TownsJuly 8, 2025Incremental Housing, canada, housing crisis, missing middle, productive growth

Bangor’s Bold Moves on Housing

Bangor, Maine, isn’t holding out for silver bullets. It’s getting to work—clearing the way for more homes in creative, community-minded ways.

Top StoryStrong TownsJuly 3, 2025Incremental Housing, housing crisis, Maine, next increment, housing policy

Lessons From Buffalo: How To Stop Slumlords and Protect Urban Spaces

Today, Abby is joined by Bernice Radle, a small-scale developer and historic building preservationist from Buffalo, New York. They discuss how two developing news stories could affect both small-scale developers and historic preservationists.

Stop Banking on Subsidies and Start Building What Works

As Norwalk navigates a housing crisis, one thing is clear: the path forward isn’t scale for scale’s sake—it’s building smarter, more affordably, and with the community in mind.

Top StoryAsia MieleszkoJuly 1, 2025Incremental Housing, housing affordability, subsidies, housing market

How To Remove Barriers to Good Housing Development, With Jesse Russell

Jesse Russell is a small-scale developer from Bend, Oregon. He joins Norm to discuss the ways he’s helping create more attainable homes in his hometown. (Transcript included.)

How Culdesac Tempe Develops Freedom, Revenue, and Belonging, With Ryan Johnson

Chuck sits down with Ryan Johnson, the founder of Culdesac Tempe, the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S. They discuss the realities of living in and developing a community like Culdesac.

Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsJune 30, 2025podcast, Incremental Housing, car-lite, Arizona, developers, walkability

Answering the Top 3 Questions About Abundance and the Strong Towns Approach

A couple of weeks ago, Chuck did a Q&A about how the book “Abundance” differs from the Strong Towns approach. There were some good questions, so we’ve consolidated his answers here.

Housing Is Not a Numbers Problem—It’s a Systems Problem

When we recognize the housing crisis as a systems and strategy problem, we realize that there is no shortage of things cities can do right now to address it.