Upzoned

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about satellite communities — towns that are developed a distance away from existing urbanized areas. They also discuss the psychological phenomena that incline people toward big projects that may solve an immediate issue (such as housing) but will cause larger difficulties later on (such as maintenance debt). ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Tewin's $590M infrastructure bill locks in 'forever sprawl,' councillor says” by Arthur White-Crummey, CBC Ottawa (June 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).

Canada needs an additional 3.5 million housing units by 2030, and that means Canadian cities — as well as many others throughout North America — are facing the challenge of building more housing without wasting natural resources like mature trees. In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss this balancing act, the high value that trees bring to a community, and why sacrificing “urban forests” for housing doesn’t have to mean sacrificing those trees. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Can urban forests survive the housing boom?” by Hanna Hett, Canada’s National Observer (October 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Andrew Ganahl, managing partner of a real estate development company that specializes in urban infill housing. They discuss a Washington Post article about townhouses, exploring the benefits of this style of development and Ganahl’s own experiences with building townhouses in Kansas City. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “The new American Dream should be a townhouse” by Amanda Shendruk and Heather Long, The Washington Post (October 2024). Andrew Ganahl (AND Real Estate site). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Post-COVID-19, there’s been a resurgence of interest in mixed-use neighborhoods, leading some cities to allow for small corner stores even in neighborhoods that are otherwise residential only. In this Upzoned episode, host Abby Newsham is joined by Norm Van Eeden Petersman, the director of membership and development for Strong Towns. They discuss the role that small corner stores play in local economies, the benefits of allowing residents to continue using and creating these kinds of businesses, and how to talk to your local government about allowing this kind of use in your own community. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Become a member today! “The Corner Store Comeback” by Linda Baker, Bloomberg (October 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

After the collapse of a Florida condo made national news in 2021, new safety regulations were enacted, requiring nearly 90% of Florida units to be updated. This left condo owners and buyers blindsided by a large backlog of deferred maintenance costs with no money saved to pay for them. In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn explain that this situation is an example of the Growth Ponzi Scheme, where maintenance costs are hidden by rapid growth until they eventually come due and bury people or communities in debt. They discuss the effect deferred maintenance has on individuals and communities and explore possible paths forward. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Why Owning (and Buying) a Florida Condo Has ‘Turned Into a Nightmare’” by Julia Echikson, The New York Times (October 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by John Anderson, a builder and developer in Georgia, to discuss the Strong Towns take on “urban homesteading,” where cities sell derelict houses to people for $1 in exchange for a promise to renovate the property and live there for a period of time. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Can Selling Off Homes for $1 Solve Urban Blight?” by Rowan Bridge, BBC (October 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Editor's Note: We are deeply saddened to see the damage Hurricane Helene has done to Western North Carolina. Please see the additional notes for ways you can help.   In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss managed retreat, where the federal government buys land from people to encourage them to move away from areas at high risk for natural disaster. According to the article, to actually move the necessary amount of people, the government needs to increase its efforts by a factor of 200. Chuck and Abby talk about the issues with this method of natural disaster management, as well as other common approaches like rebuilding disaster areas to be more fortified, and share their thoughts on alternative responses to natural disasters. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Ways to help Western North Carolina, suggested by Local Conversations in the area: Manna Food Bank. North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund. Heart of the Foothills Animal Rescue. Cajun Navy. Beloved Asheville. “Retreating From the Coasts Makes Sense, But Our Current Approach Isn’t Working,” by Tim Robustelli and Yuliya Panfil, Shelterforce Magazine (August 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a national deployment plan of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, a wireless communication tool that allows vehicles to transmit data on speed, location, road condition and other basic information. The DOT plans to implement this technology in 75% of the nation's intersections over the next decade or so. In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Strong Towns Director of Community Action Edward Erfurt. They discuss how V2X technology works, the challenges and risks of implementing it, and the alternatives that cities can use to increase safety more quickly and cheaply. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “The Moonshot Plan to Eliminate Deaths on America’s Roads” by Maria Clara Cobo and Fola Akinnibi, Bloomberg (September 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the article “Toward a New Way of Educating City Builders” by Seth Zeren, a founding member of Strong Towns. They discuss the many different disciplines that are responsible for shaping the built environment, the professional silos that often develop between these disciplines, and how a shift in management or the way people think about urban development as a whole could break down these barriers. If you’d like to hear more of Zeren’s thoughts on city building, check out his appearances on The Bottom-Up Revolution. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Toward a New Way of Educating City Builders” by Seth Zeren, Build the Next Right Thing (September 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by small-scale developers Alli Quinlan and Bernice Radle. They discuss their experiences in the field of incremental development, how to make incremental development more feasible in your city, and the importance of encouraging women to become incremental developers. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Alli Quinlan (LinkedIn). Bernice Radle (LinkedIn). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss a Wall Street Journal article titled “The American Dream Feels Out of Reach for Most.” They talk about how inflation and high housing costs can put the American Dream out of reach for many people, as well as the trade-offs that people may be forced to make between different life priorities, such as career fulfillment and homeownership. They also explore the importance of strong community relationships in finding happiness. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “The American Dream Feels Out of Reach for Most” by Rachel Wolfe, The Wall Street Journal (August 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

This week, Upzoned host Abby Newsham and The Messy City Podcast host Kevin Klinkenberg are working together in a special collaborative episode. They are joined by Jim Heid, a Californian landscape architect turned small-scale developer, to discuss the real estate profession and why he thinks it can solve a lot of modern problems. Heid runs the Small Scale Developer Forum and has a new book called “Building Small: A Toolkit for Real Estate Entrepreneurs, Civic Leaders, and Great Communities.” ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES The Messy City Podcast. Jim Heid (site). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the article “Huge Fire Trucks Are Making Us All Less Safe” by Collin Woodard. They talk about how North American fire trucks are unusual for their massive sizes, how accommodating such large trucks makes streets more dangerous and how fire departments could adapt to improve public safety. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Huge Fire Trucks Are Making Us All Less Safe” by Collin Woodard, Yahoo News (August 2024). The fire engine created by Abby Newsham’s ancestor. Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about the rapid population decline of children under five years old in large urban areas. They discuss the factors that can drive would-be urban families out of cities, how the rapidly declining population will affect services like schools and the importance of cities being able to accommodate diverse lifestyles in a dynamic way. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “The Urban Family Exodus Is a Warning for Progressives,” by Derek Thompson, The Atlantic (August 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about the Olympic Village that was built in Paris and what the city plans to do with the development now that the Games are over. They discuss the accusations of gentrification and greenwashing that Paris officials are facing, the challenges inherent in trying to complete large-scale, sustainable projects on a deadline, and lessons that both Paris and Los Angeles — which will be hosting the 2028 Games — can take from past hosts. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Paris Hopes to Forge a New Model for Olympics-Oriented Development,” by Sam Levitt, The Urbanist (July 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Indianapolis officials are encouraging residents to be involved in improving the city, both through fund-matching programs and by opening a lending library of tools and equipment to help residents start pilot projects. In this Upzoned episode, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn talk about how Indianapolis’ programs and initiatives are a great example of changing a city’s bureaucratic structure and processes to better meet residents’ needs. They discuss the growing pains that come with this kind of change and the necessity of officials and residents accepting failure as part of an incremental, experimental process. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Indy puts more resources toward helping communities make quick improvements” by Lauren Kostiuk, WTHR (July 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Jason Carter-Solomon, an incremental developer and commercial lender in Kansas City, to talk about financing small-scale development. They discuss the layers of risk that small-scale developers must navigate, and Solomon offers his perspective and advice on facing common challenges, such as dealing with entitlements and building inspectors. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Jason Carter-Solomon (LinkedIn). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

This fall, seven states will have the opportunity to cut — or abolish, in some cases — property taxes, according to an article by Governing. In this episode of Upzoned, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the Strong Towns perspective on property taxes, the consequences of removing them and how most people (including city officials) don’t realize how much it costs to run a city. Chuck emphasizes that Strong Towns is not anti-tax and that taxes are essential to successfully running any city. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Voters in Several States Can Cut — or Abolish — Property Taxes This Fall” by Zina Hutton, Governing (July 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

The governor of New York recently announced the dissolution of the city’s congestion pricing program after years of planning and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. This program would’ve initiated a $15 toll on vehicles entering certain parts of Manhattan, and it was partly established to help support reinvestment in the transit system. It was shut down less than a month before it was supposed to start operating — after all the tolling infrastructure was already installed. In this episode of Upzoned, Chuck and Abby discuss how this debacle shows a fundamental misunderstanding of congestion pricing, the politics underpinning this decision and how the city could’ve handled things better. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “17 Years, $700 Million Wasted: The Stunning Collapse of New York’s Traffic Moonshot” by Jimmy Vielkind and Joseph De Avila, The Wall Street Journal (June 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

You’ve heard of YIMBYs and NIMBYs, but have you heard of YIGBYs? YIGBY stands for “Yes In God’s Backyard,” and it’s a movement focused on leveraging land owned by religious institutions to alleviate the housing crisis. This has the potential to benefit both people in need of housing and religious institutions. In this episode of Upzoned, hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the potential benefits of the YIGBY movement, the practicalities of implementing it, and broader mindsets surrounding religious institutions and what their land should be used for. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Yes in God’s backyard?” by Rachel M. Cohen, Vox (June 2024). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.