Stacked Against Us

Stacked Against Us

By Strong TownsSociety & Culture
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Stacked Against Us episodes

  • The City that Saved Itself

    South Bend spent decades defined by what it lost: a factory, a workforce, a future. But instead of trying to resurrect a past that wasn’t coming back, it chose incremental, local repair. This episode explores how a city long in decline wrote a new story on its own terms.



    Continue to learn more at strongtowns.org/stackedagainstus

    1. Strong Towns:  (Video)

      Can American Cities Save Themselves? This One Thinks So.

    2. What now for South Bend neighborhoods after '1,000 houses in 1,000 days'?

    3. Strong Towns:

      A New Generation of Townmakers

    4. Strong Towns:

      Meet the City Leader Turning Vacant Lots Into Homes in Kalamazoo

    5. Creating Local Ownership through Alternative Equity (Documentary featuring Jordan Richardson and Tony Ruiz)

    6. Strong Towns:

      The 30-Year Mortgage Was Bad. The 40-Year Mortgage Will Be Even Worse.

    7. The Housing-Ready City: Toolkits offering the policies, practices, and financing that will make housing better for everyone.


      52 min
    8. Escaping the Housing Trap

      How can communities rebuild stability in a system designed for speculation? This episode highlights bottom-up efforts where neighbors, small developers, and local leaders are charting a different path.


      Show notes:

      1. Strong Towns: When one extra unit triggers a giant leap in red tape
      2. New York Times: Would the Housing Crisis Ease if Boomers Rented Out Their Empty Rooms? https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/04/business/economy/housing-crisis-multifamily-adu.html
      3. Strong Towns: How Affordable Housing Distracts People From Housing Affordability
      4. Strong Towns: How a Board Game Exposed Barriers to Local Investment & Inspired Change
      5. Strong Towns: Death by Parking
      6. Strong Towns: A Slow and Steady (but Bittersweet) Victory Against Arcane Parking Mandates
      7. Escaping the Housing Trap by Charles Marohn and Daniel Herriges
      8. Check out other resources at strongtowns.org/stackedagainstus
        9. 42 min
      9. A New Generation of Corporate Ownership

        A new wave of investors is targeting struggling cities, betting they can profit regardless of local conditions. This episode explores how financial incentives keep the model alive—and what that means for communities trying to resist. Continue to learn more at strongtowns.org/stackedagainstus



        Become a Strong Towns member today at strongtowns.org/members

        39 min
      10. Building the Housing Trap

        After the 2008 crash, federal policies fueled the financialization of housing, transforming it from shelter into an investment vehicle. The result: a new breed of landlords and investors moving into markets once dominated by local ownership. Continue to learn more at strongtowns.org/stackedagainstus



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        32 min
      11. When Your Landlord is an App

        Turning housing into a tech product promised speed and scale. What it delivered instead were broken homes, frustrated tenants, and a widening gap between the people who own property and the people who live in it. Learn more at strongtowns.org/stackedagainstus

        35 min
      12. Stacked Against Us Trailer

        This podcast explores how a national economic gamble broke housing, and why local resilience is the only way forward. Learn more at strongtowns.org/stackedagainstus

        1 min

      About Stacked Against Us

      From the publisher's feed

      The 2008 financial crisis did more than rattle Wall Street—it reshaped our neighborhoods. Homes that once built security for families became speculative investments. Over ten years later, that…