When a Town's Biggest Taxpayer Becomes Its Biggest Problem

When a Town's Biggest Taxpayer Becomes Its Biggest Problem

Author: Strong Towns October 22, 2025 Duration: 37:39
What do you do with 720,000 square feet of dead mall? Towns across America are struggling to find the answer as their malls shut down, leaving budget craters and infrastructure nightmares in their wake. Abby is joined by Carlee Alm-LaBar, Strong Towns' chief of staff and a former city staffer, to explore whether the answer is a grand redevelopment plan — or thinking radically smaller. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “A Town's Single Largest Taxpayer Is Also Its Biggest Headache” by Jim Zarroli, The New York Times (June 2025). Click here to listen to The Bottom-Up Revolution episode about the 24 Hour Citizen Project. ‍Abby Newsham (X/Twitter)   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

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
The Tuba and What It Actually Takes to Build Community [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:18
Sam Quinones keynoted the Strong Towns National Gathering last week and closed with a story about a tuba. If that left you wanting more, this conversation with Chuck Marohn is the place to start. This rerun from the Stro…
Are We Trying to Build No Houses? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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?…
When The Ribbon Cutting Is the Cheapest Part [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:17
Des Moines just approved an $8.4 million first phase for a $54 million park overhaul. The bid came in over estimate, and there's no maintenance plan in sight — meanwhile the city was cutting services 9% across the board…
Inside the Politics of ‘Safer Streets’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:01
What if the street itself did most of the work of slowing cars, instead of another sign or speed trap? Drawing on a new Bloomberg CityLab piece, Carlee Alm‑LaBar is joined by Edward Erfurt and Ann Arbor’s transportation…
When Your City Feels Like Housing Musical Chairs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:55
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New York’s Bracket And The Politics Of Maintenance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:54
In New York City, a playful bracket about broken hoops and dumping sites turns routine maintenance into a citywide tournament. Carlee Alm-LaBar, Edward Erfurt, and Alexander Lazard explore what that reveals about complai…
Unpacking The Myth That Growth Pays For Growth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:38
Development cost charges are supposed to make growth pay for itself, but this conversation shows just how far that promise falls short. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Michel Durand-Wood, and Dan Winer unpack Ontario’s deal to…
The $600K Snow Budget That Became a $6 Million Problem [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:17
A Massachusetts town budgeted $600,000 for snow and ended up spending $6 million clearing its streets. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Daniel Herriges, and Gracen Johnson trace the links between winter operations, stormwater,…
What LA’s Trash Problem Reveals About Its Streets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:17
While Los Angeles gets ready for the Olympics and World Cup, residents watch trash pile up in the places tourists never see. Chuck, Norm, and Carlee trace the links between auto‑oriented growth, a strained city budget, a…
Why a Legal Home Addition Sparked Outrage in Fairfax County [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:14
A multigenerational home addition sparked national attention and local outrage in Fairfax County, Virginia. Chief Technical Advisor Edward Erfurt sits down with guest host Norm Van Eeden Petersman to explore why legally…