Upzoned Strong Towns

This special edition of Upzoned was recorded last week at the 2024 National Gathering. Join host Abby Newsham as she talks to attendees about their efforts to build stronger towns.
Interviewees:
(0:00) Lisa Hutson, a business owner who’s turning an abandoned factory into a mixed-use community hub.
(8:52) Sean Suder, a zoning reform expert who helps cities make their zoning codes more people-friendly and defensible.
(18:40) Chris Wyatt, a transit advocate who’s working to make public transit more pleasant and useful.
(26:00) Hannah Stanton-Gockel, a bike commuter who uses her marketing experience to advocate for people-centric city design.
(38:41) Isaac Gonzalez, one of the National Gathering presenters, who discusses how to be a good long-term advocate.
(50:40) Jackson Lester, a public transit planner who intends to combat the housing crisis through infill development.
(1:02:15) Jaclyn Cheves, director of policy and partnerships for Blue Zones, who discusses how cities can become healthier places.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

The city of Cincinnati has pledged $200k to keep the popular bikeshare program Red Bike alive for another year. Joining us to talk about bikeshare programs and Red Bike’s financial difficulties is Bryce Mortera, a member of Civic Cincinnati. Are these programs really beneficial for residents? And if so, is there a more sustainable way to fund them than relying on sponsors?

The U.S. Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into a major software company called RealPage, which is described in the lawsuit as the “big tech” company of rental housing. It provides software that is used by landlords (and, typically, landlords who are large holders of rental property) to estimate supply and demand for their listings in order to help them maximize rents. The question is whether or not RealPage is facilitating algorithmic price fixing for some of the largest residential property owners and management firms—amounting to what DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb has described as a “housing cartel.” And since Strong Towns has just released Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis, we figured there was no better time to discuss this story than now.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Order your copy of Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis today!


“DOJ escalates price-fixing probe on housing market,” by Josh Sisco, Politico (March 2024).


Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Chuck Marohn (X/Twitter).


Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Since the 1970s, the number of cars on I-70 between Denver and its surrounding resorts have jumped more than 500%. Coloradans and frequent visitors know that, in order to reach the mountains during the gridlock of ski season, you must leave as early as 3 or 4 a.m. in the morning. Writer Gloria Liu decided to investigate this chaos by jumping directly into the traffic and interviewing the people stuck in it, and the article she penned about her adventure is up for discussion on this week’s episode of Upzoned. Can I-70 be fixed? And what do famous recreational arterials like I-70 reveal about our relationship with nature in the U.S.?
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Colorado’s I-70 Has America’s Most Notorious Ski Traffic. Is There a Solution?” by Gloria Liu, Outside (March 2024).


Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Chuck Marohn (X/Twitter).


Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Cincinnati is currently undergoing a significant planning reformation effort, which involves unveiling what’s being called the Connected Communities plan. It includes a number of proposed land-use-related policy changes that are intended to help Cincinnati grow, with the goal of advancing zoning code changes, as well as supporting diversification and affordability of housing and bolstering business districts. Here on Upzoned this week to talk with host Abby Newsham about the proposal is John Yung, an urban planner, Program Manager at the Haile Foundation, and co-leader of the Cincy host committee for the upcoming Congress for the New Urbanism, which (along with the Strong Towns National Gathering) will be taking place in Cincinnati in May.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Mayor Pureval wants to redesign Cincinnati. Here's what that could look like,” by Becca Costello, WVXU (January 2024).


Get your tickets for the National Gathering today!


Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

On this week’s episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham and co-host Chuck Marohn are joined by Coby Lefkowitz, who penned the article that’s up for discussion: “Why small developers are getting squeezed out of the housing market.” It focuses on how finance shapes our cities, why debt is used to develop cities in the first place, how lenders deal with risk, and why risk mitigation is critical to understanding why the world looks the way it does. And, most notably, it dives into America's housing financial system and why it privileges large-scale institutional development at the expense of more incremental and community-based building.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Why small developers are getting squeezed out of the housing market,” by Coby Lefkowitz, Noahpinion (March 2024).


Coby Lefkowitz (Website; X/Twitter).


Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).


Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.