In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck explains why federal and state government policies can’t solve the housing affordability crisis and how that power actually lies with local leaders.
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You’ve heard of YIMBYs and NIMBYs, but have you heard of YIGBYs? The “Yes In God’s Backyard” movement focuses on leveraging land owned by religious institutions to alleviate the housing crisis.
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We can’t wait for big government housing programs to fix the housing affordability crisis — in fact, they can actually make things worse. But don't lose hope. Local governments have the power to tackle the housing crisis in ways that actually work.
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Many people believe that, with some zoning changes, large-scale development will be the true key to the housing crisis. This isn’t the case. Large-scale development worsens the issues that caused the crisis in the first place. Here’s a few of the ways incremental development is better for cities than large-scale.
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Criminalizing homelessness is often an attempt to make public spaces safe and comfortable. It fails miserably, at the cost of persecuting some of the most vulnerable members of the population. If cities want a real, sustainable solution to a homelessness crisis, they need to address the underlying cause: North America’s broken housing system.
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Can your city escape the housing trap simply through blanket rezoning? How should your city handle historic designations that are blocking housing development? Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn answers these questions and more in this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast.
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North America is facing two widespread crises at the same time: housing and loneliness. This group is proving that cohousing might be the solution to both.
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When fighting the housing crisis, you need to get creative. Toronto is doing just that. Not only have they created a partnership between public officials and private developers, but they’ve also identified a valuable urban resource that often flies under the development radar: transit property.
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No city is an island, and no city can judge its place in the housing crisis based solely on local demand. They must also consider how their restrictive policies may be driving housing demand to other places — or how other cities may be driving demand to them.
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Building affordable housing seems like a win for cities struggling in the Housing Trap. But between its top-down nature and the public subsidies it requires, affordable housing can actually make things worse.
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From college students trying to make ends meet to older individuals who need support from live-in caretakers, occupancy limits make life unnecessarily difficult for a lot of people. Colorado has passed a law that’s going to change that.
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Habitat for Humanity offers a wide range of programs to help people become homeowners, giving the organization a unique perspective on the housing crisis. Strong Towns sat down with two representatives to learn about this perspective, including how Habitat is handling high building costs and why Habitat owners participate in the construction of their homes.
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There used to be an article about Culdesac here. It was a poor representation of Strong Towns ideas, and after some consideration (and it being referenced in an ongoing conversation about development) we decided to retract it. Please enjoy these recommendations instead.
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Many cities in the United States are experiencing a housing crisis, with pressure growing for someone to find a solution. But is an official solution even possible? With dysfunctional institutions and a divided culture, the “solution” might come down to individuals doing what they can in the moment.
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Connecticut is trying to reform state and local zoning laws to allow diverse and affordable housing production. However, their efforts still rely on the suburban approach — accruing large amounts of debt in anticipation of future growth — so they may be doomed to failure.
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As prices rise, housing affordability has become an increasingly popular topic of discussion across North America. However, in our current system, affordable housing is an oxymoron: Housing is treated as an investment, and good investments constantly increase in price. To escape this paradox, we must change the way we think about housing.
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With interest rates rising, the cost and availability of housing are becoming increasingly popular topics of debate. But most of these discussions fail to challenge the root of the issue: the absurdity of mortgages as an investment vehicle.
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A recent tweet from the POTUS saying that we need to “build, build, build” to end the housing crisis might reassure some, but there’s reason to be skeptical about how he’s suggesting we do so.
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If we listen to those concerned about housing affordability, rents are already too high and may only go higher. If we listen to those concerned about housing finance, rents are about to collapse. Can both of these narratives be true?
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When housing is scarce, the affordability and quality of it tend to go down. If we want to solve this, we need more housing supply—but how do we make that happen? (Hint: Not necessarily through large-scale federal programs!)
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