Are We Trying to Build No Houses?

Are We Trying to Build No Houses?

Author: Strong Towns May 20, 2026 Duration: 49:47
A viral town meeting clip from Marblehead, Massachusetts, raised a question that goes far beyond one zoning debate: What happens when a state says yes to more housing, but the local process still makes it hard to build? Or, as resident David Modica put it, “Are we trying to do nothing?” Carlee Alm-LaBar talks with Strong Towns Technical Advisor Edward Erfurt and Lafayette City Councilman Thomas Hooks about the messy handoff between policy and place. They look at why communities can comply on paper while resisting in practice, and why the next real step may be as small as one block, one lot, or one drawing that helps people see what is possible. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES "The Latest Hero of the ‘Yimby’ Movement Is a Massachusetts Man in a Hoodie" by Will Parker, WSJ.com (May 2026) Downzone: The Victory of Greenwood, by Carlos Moreno (Site) Scrubs Reboot (Site) Junior League of Lafayette (Site) Strong Towns National Gathering (Site) Carlee Alm-LaBar (LinkedIn) Thomas Hooks (LinkedIn) Edward Erfurt (LinkedIn) Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.

Each week, Upzoned takes a single, pressing story from the world of urban development, municipal policy, and community economics and holds it up to the light. Hosts Abby Kinney and Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns, sometimes joined by a guest, don't just skim the headlines. They dig into the nuances of a specific zoning decision, a new infrastructure project, or a shifting demographic trend, asking what it reveals about how we actually build our cities, towns, and neighborhoods. The conversation is grounded in the practical, bottom-up philosophy of the Strong Towns movement, making complex topics accessible and immediately relevant. This isn't a broad news recap; it's a focused, thoughtful dissection for anyone curious about why their community looks and functions the way it does. You'll hear informed debate, critical analysis, and a persistent questioning of conventional wisdom, all aimed at understanding how we can create places that are financially resilient and genuinely enriching for the people who live in them. Tune in for a deeper, more substantive take on the stories that shape our shared spaces.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Upzoned
Podcast Episodes
Why Colorado Is Facing a Senior Housing Crisis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:30
Colorado's population is rapidly aging. Soon, one in five people in the state will be be over 65 years old. Limited housing stock means seniors are stuck in too-large homes that they can’t afford to maintain. In turn, th…
Why LA Is Struggling To Rebuild 6 Months After Wildfires [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:08
In January 2025, wildfires swept across Los Angeles with record-breaking destruction. To encourage swift rebuilding, Governor Newsom suspended environmental regulations. But six months later, only a fraction of homeowner…
Want To Use This Rural Road? That’ll Be $50K [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:20
In Lincoln County, South Dakota, a growing agriculture company is being charged $50,000 annually for wear and tear on township roads caused by the company's trucks and machinery. Abby and Edward discuss the balancing act…
Suburbs Broke the American Sunbelt. Now What? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:40
Sunbelt cities like Phoenix, Dallas, and Atlanta have long prided themselves on having affordable and abundant housing. However, they’re now seeing stagnation in housing construction and rapidly rising costs. Today, Abby…
How To Stop Slumlords and Protect Urban Spaces [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:43
Today, Abby is joined by Bernice Radle, a small-scale developer and historic building preservationist from Buffalo, New York. They cover two developing stories: First, a new bill was proposed that would give the Buffalo…
A Strong Towns View of the New SpaceX Company Town [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:36
Residents of Boca Chica, Texas, have voted to turn their community into a new official city called Starbase. This new municipality is tightly controlled by SpaceX leadership and most residents are SpaceX employees, which…
California Universities Face a $17 Billion Growth Ponzi Scheme [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:57
As of the 2023-24 academic year, the University of California faces $9.1 billion in deferred maintenance, while California State University faces $8.3 billion. In today’s episode, Chuck and Abby explore how this problem…
Will Privatizing Mortgages Fix the Housing Market? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:37
President Trump has proposed the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, organizations that back the majority of mortgages in the U.S. and have been under a government conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis…
Can We Take Community Wealth Back From Walmart and Kroger? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:57
In this Upzoned episode, Abby is joined by Strong Towns Chief Technical Advisor Edward Erfurt to discuss the emergence of food deserts in the United States. In the 1980s, the U.S. government stopped enforcing price discr…