Suburbs Broke the American Sunbelt. Now What?

Suburbs Broke the American Sunbelt. Now What?

Author: Strong Towns July 16, 2025 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 is joined by Rachel Leonardo, a trained architect and Strong Towns’ video creator, to discuss how rigid single-use zoning has locked cities into expensive fragility. They explore whether these cities can course correct and how they could become more resilient and prosperous in the long-term. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Here are 6 simple ways to make housing more affordable in your community. “Sprawl made the American Sunbelt affordable. Now it’s breaking it.” by Marina Bolotnikova, Vox (July 2025). See Rachel’s work: Studio Leonardo (YouTube) Strong Towns (YouTube) Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

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: 100

Upzoned
Podcast Episodes
Why Cities Need To Become More Family Friendly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:39
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 fam…
What Los Angeles Can Learn From Paris’ Olympic Village [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:55
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 a…
You Don’t Actually Want To Abolish Property Taxes, and Here’s Why [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:15
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…
Why New York City’s Traffic Congestion Plan Crashed and Burned [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:05
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 o…
How To Successfully Navigate the World of Incremental Development [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:26
Incremental development is the most resilient and financially responsible way for communities to grow and improve. As North America struggles through a housing crisis, this style of development becomes increasingly impor…
Doug Barrick: Building a Strong Town as a Member of Local Government [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:44
In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by Doug Barrick, the town manager of Rutherfordton, North Carolina. Rutherfordton was one of the contestants in the 2024 Strongest Town Contest. Barrick discusses w…