My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Revisited

I’ve had to reconcile my foundational belief in markets with my experiences working with cities. This has been a painful process.

Best of 2019: My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate

When Strong Towns founder Chuck Marohn’s foundational beliefs about the market came up against how towns and cities were actually being built, something had to give. The process was often painful, and it left him wondering: Is a truly “free” market even possible?

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnDecember 17, 2019Market Urbanism, markets

If Strong Towns Is Right and Cities Are Insolvent, Why Do So Many Seem to Be Doing So Well?

The unproductive use of infrastructure has put most cities, even those that are superficially prosperous, in a position where they won’t be able to afford to maintain what they’ve built. The signs of this crisis are everywhere—if you’re willing to look.

My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Part 7: The Nature of Markets

There is no such thing as a truly free market; the market exists within a system of rules and incentives. And in America today, that system privileges stability and efficiency at the federal level, at the expense of making our cities and towns fragile.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 5, 2019Market Urbanism, markets, fragility, localism, antifragility

My Journey From Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Part 6: Organic Markets in the Traditional City

A real market urbanism looks like an organic system, where as many distortions as possible are removed and we’re left with irrational, fallible humans transacting with each other as freely as possible. There is good reason to correlate that with the traditional development pattern.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJuly 22, 2019Market Urbanism, traditional development pattern, value per acre

My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Part 5: Commercial Development

If local governments are going to lose money on residential development, then they have to make it up on commercial development. That’s a risky business model, one that doesn’t pencil out.

My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Part 4: Analyzing the Cul-de-Sac

In a suburban development pattern, the cul-de-sac is the gravy. It’s the cherry on top. It should be the most profitable part of the system, the place with the most tax base for the least amount of cost. If that’s not true, then something is terribly wrong with our model of growth.

My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Part 3: What is Infrastructure?

In very simple terms, infrastructure is a platform for expanding wealth. If infrastructure doesn’t expand our wealth enough to justify its construction, it’s not an investment. It’s merely a form of consumptive spending.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJuly 8, 2019Market Urbanism

My Journey from Free Market Ideologue to Strong Towns Advocate, Part 2: Pequot Lakes Bypass

Early in my career, I helped plan a highway bypass for a small town that I was sure would generate a positive return on investment in the form of economic growth. The only problem? The actual numbers we calculated told a different story.