Sam Quinones: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth

This week on the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn chats with Sam Quinones, author and journalist, about his most recent book, The Least of Us.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Top StoryStrong TownsDecember 5, 2022Podcast, podcast, addiction, books

Christmas Cookie Inflation Index, 2022 Update

The Christmas Cookie Inflation Index has risen 12.0% in the last year. This is compared to the official inflation rate of 7.7%.

Marohn, Top Story, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnDecember 5, 2022Inflation, economics, Economy, poverty, Poverty

Your City May Be Illegally Assessing You for Routine Infrastructure Maintenance

Part of having transparent local accounting is ensuring that the people living in a community know and understand the public costs associated with their homes and businesses. Right now, that isn’t the case in most places.

#DotheMath, Infrastructure, Marohn, Finance, Top Story, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnNovember 28, 2022Transparent Local Accounting, local finance, public finance, maintenance, Maintenance, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure cost, infrastructure maintenance, financial solvency, #DoTheMath

The Impact of Systemic Racism on Jackson's Water Crisis

Strong Towns member and former Jackson, MS, resident Amanda Lanata comes to the Strong Towns Podcast to discuss the role that racism played in the city’s recent water crisis.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Infrastructure, Race, Top StoryStrong TownsNovember 21, 2022Podcast, podcast, water, Infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, race, race relations, Race, mississippi

A Million Local Heroes

It takes a million local heroes to change the multitrillion-dollar North American development machine. We’re getting closer, but this Member Week, we need your support.

Marohn, Membership, Top StoryCharles MarohnNovember 14, 2022member drive, membership

An Update on the Strong Towns Lawsuit

Here’s the latest on our ongoing legal action against the Minnesota board of engineering licensing—now officially Minnesota v. Marohn.

Engineering Reform, Engineering Profession, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnNovember 11, 2022engineering profession, engineering ethics

MoDOT Is Proud of Their Highways. Missourians, Not So Much.

MoDOT recently put out a tweet celebrating the 50-year anniversary of a highway that tore up Kansas City’s downtown. Here are just some of the (rightfully) angry reactions they got.

Water System Crises and Solutions

What are the origins of our current water systems, and how should we think about them, going forward?

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Infrastructure, Top Story, Transparent AccountingStrong TownsNovember 7, 2022Podcast, podcast, water, Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, history, History

McGilchrist Still Isn’t an Improvement, but Here’s the Math

We've said it'll take 39 years for Salem, OR, to recoup the money they're spending on the McGilchrist Street “Improvement” Project, and you've asked us to provide more proof for this assertion. So, let's do the math.

#DotheMath, #NoNewRoads, Marohn, Transportation, Top Story, Safe & Productive StreetsCharles MarohnNovember 2, 2022#DoTheMath, Safe and Productive Streets, Oregon, transportation, transportation spending, traffic engineering, projections, local finance, #NoNewRoads

The Highway Boondoggles Report

Frontier Group’s Tony Dutzik comes onto the podcast today to talk about their annual “Highway Boondoggles” report. In light of last year’s infrastructure bill, just how much funding is being wasted on highway expansion?

Introducing Edward Erfurt as Our Director of Community Action

Join us in welcoming the newest member of the Strong Towns team!

Announcement, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnOctober 19, 2022announcement, Strong Towns

What Customer Service Should Mean for a City

Many local governments have taken on a “the customer is always right” mindset, but that’s simply not the best approach, especially for decisions that should be made at the block level.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Local Government, Top StoryStrong TownsOctober 10, 2022Podcast, podcast, local government, city government, localism, neighborliness, Neighborhoods, neighborhood

That's Not an Improvement

Engineers who work on municipal infrastructure need to stop ubiquitously describing their projects as “improvements”—especially when the project is actually harmful, not helpful.

What Will Housing Prices Be a Year From Now?

If one thing’s clear about the housing market, it’s that it’s currently more sensitive to factors outside of your community—outside of your control—than anything within.

Finance, Housing, Marohn, Top Story, Incremental HousingCharles MarohnSeptember 26, 2022housing, housing cost, housing affordability, housing market, Housing, housing policy, housing finance, Incremental Housing, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, finance

Hawaii's Suburban Experiment

How does the suburban development pattern present itself in a smaller island space, versus in the contiguous United States?

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Top Story, Transparent AccountingStrong TownsSeptember 26, 2022Podcast, podcast, Growth Ponzi Scheme, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, Hawaii, suburbanization

The Jackson Water Crisis Is Not a Fluke. Your City Could Be Next.

For seven weeks Jackson’s residents had to bear the brunt of a failing water system, and unfortunately it was bound to happen.

Podcast, Marohn, ST Podcast, Top Story, Transparent AccountingStrong TownsSeptember 19, 2022Podcast, podcast, Growth Ponzi Scheme, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, mississippi, water, sprawl, fragility

This Ice Machine Is a Case Study in Neighborhood Decline

When you prioritize fast car movement on a street that should be for building community wealth, don’t be surprised when you end up getting neither.

Marohn, Roads and Streets, Top Story, Safe & Productive Streets, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnSeptember 19, 2022Safe and Productive Streets, streets, STROADS, Brainerd MN, Minnesota, capitalism, decline, neighborhood, Small Towns, small towns, suburban development pattern

Financial Fragility Is To Blame for Jackson’s Water Crisis

The Suburban Experiment is a bad business model, and nothing demonstrates that more clearly than Jackson, Mississippi’s, ongoing water crisis.

Finance, Infrastructure, Marohn, Transparent AccountingCharles MarohnSeptember 12, 2022Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure maintenance, fragility, mississippi, development pattern, Growth Ponzi Scheme, infrastructure cost, finance, local finance, suburban experiment

Licensing Board to the Engineering Profession: "Stay in Line"

The Minnesota licensing board has essentially issued a warning to professional engineers: Stay in line or you will face attack by colleagues who disagree with you.

Engineering Profession, Engineering Reform, Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnAugust 30, 2022engineering profession, engineering ethics

Not Just Bikes and Strong Towns: What America Keeps Getting Wrong About Public Transit

Why is it that in the U.S. and Canada, we're always being told that we can't justify the ridership for transit projects? And why is it that when we do build transit, it struggles to gain riders?