After her marriage of 17 years ended, Holly Harper, a consultant and entrepreneur in Washington, DC, rented a one-bedroom apartment for herself and her daughter. Harper wanted to own a home again (it was a priority for her financial stability) but she was a self-employed, single parent in an expensive city. What to do?

In two recent articles in Insider, Harper tells the story of how she became “a post-divorce homeowner” through cohousing. Harper now lives with two other single moms, and their five children, in a multi-unit home in Washington. Harper estimates that she saved $30,000 last year by cohousing. “The financial, social, and emotional benefits have been life-changing,” she writes. “Not only do I get to save money every month, but I get to live beyond my means by pooling our extra belongings and using them when needed.”

This week’s Upzoned looks at cohousing and the essential role it can play—should play—in a city’s housing strategy, and how it can make homeownership a reality for more people. Host Abby Kinney, an urban planner in Kansas City, is joined this week by guest co-host John Pattison, the community builder for Strong Towns.

Abby and John talk about where cohousing fits in the housing ecosystem, and the ways in which towns and cities make it easier or harder for people to pursue. John also talks about his own family’s experience with cohousing—or something very like cohousing—and the financial and social benefits it has brought them.

Then in the Downzone, Abby talks about her upcoming trip to the CNU gathering in Oklahoma City, and John recommends a recent National Geographic article about why the restoration of Notre Dame cathedral begs the question: “Restore to what?”

A reminder: Nominations for the Strongest Town contest are due by Sunday, February 20. Want to highlight the progress your town or city is making toward becoming stronger and more resilient? Nominate your community today!

“I bought a house with another single mom to share costs and maintenance. Now we have a kid paradise, with built-in babysitting, car-sharing, and a craft studio,” by Holly Harper, Insider (January 2022)

“I'm a single mom who shares a house with other single moms. Cohousing saved me $30,000 last year,” by Holly Harper, Insider (January 2022)

Sharing Housing, Inc.

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

John Pattison (Twitter)

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Following WWII, many corporations fled from city centers to settle down in the suburbs alongside homeowners. Now, though, it seems that some large companies are pivoting their real-estate models toward building more compact, mixed-use centers, rather than the typical single-user suburban office park for their corporate campuses.

A recent New York Times article by Keith Schneider describes this as the “urbanization of the suburban experience.” It points to several examples, such as Capital One’s 24-acre campus in Tysons, Virginia; Walmart’s soon-to-be 350-acre headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas; JPMorgan Chase’s regional headquarters in Plano, Texas; and Microsoft’s future 90-acre regional headquarters on the western edge of Atlanta.

Many of these examples have some kind of public-interfacing, mixed-use, residential component to them—a merging of both the modern models for corporate campuses and retail, mixed-use centers as a way of dually anchoring the development project. But is this approach a net positive or a net negative when it comes to suburban development? Find out today as host Abby Kinney and co-host Chuck Marohn “upzone” this story, unpacking and analyzing it through the Strong Towns lens.

“After Urban Flight, Corporate Campuses Add a Taste of the City,” by Keith Schneider, New York Times (January 2022).

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

Charles Marohn (Twitter)

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In September of 2020, an article was featured on Upzoned titled, “They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen?” It discussed the frustrations that people working on the ground in forest fire management felt, knowing that the fires were being caused by decades of overzealous fire oppression and the lack of controlled burning efforts. They knew that the situation was only going to get worse—and sure enough, nowadays California is having to take a reactive approach to the situation, rather than a proactive one.

Today, host Abby Kinney and Strong Towns Senior Editor Daniel Herriges follow up on this story, looking at the current situation in California. They discuss a new article from POLITICO that highlights a different approach to the problem: discouraging development in hazardous areas from the get go. This is happening primarily because insurance companies are starting to recognize that they cannot continue to insure properties in high-risk areas.

Is this the right answer? It’s certainly a very controversial move, and some argue that we can’t afford to raise insurance rates during a housing crisis. Join Abby and Daniel as they “upzone” this controversy, analyzing it through the Strong Towns lens and exploring why it is that seemingly “nothing will deter people from moving into some of the most disaster-prone corners of the United States.”

“California continues to face wildfire risks. Insurers think they have an answer,” by Debra Kahn, POLITICO California (December 2021)

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

Daniel Herriges (Twitter)

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Today on Upzoned, host Abby Kinney and regular co-host Chuck Marohn are joined by a special guest: Shomari Benton, the co-founder of Benton Lloyd & Chung (a law firm in Kansas City, Missouri, that specializes in land use and real estate). He is also an avid urbanist, historic preservation advocate, and small-scale developer.

Together, they discuss an article from The Atlantic by Nolan Gray, titled “Stop Fetishizing Old Homes.” Gray takes a rather spicy approach to talking about historic preservation, and how it has ultimately harmed the capacity for many cities across the U.S. to develop a sufficient number of housing units in a housing crisis.

He argues that the fetishization of old homes has encouraged our society to weaponize preservation in a self-righteous pursuit that clouds the more important need of building more housing. According to the author, we need to start getting serious about new construction, as opposed to preserving old housing—which he compares to poorly maintained, unsafe junker cars being forced back into service after their intended lifespan.

What’s the Strong Towns take on this conversation? Find out as Abby, Chuck, and Shomari “upzone” it!

“Stop Fetishizing Old Homes,” by M. Nolan Gray, The Atlantic (January 2022)

Shomari Benton (Twitter)

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

Charles Marohn (Twitter)

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Upzoned is back after a short hiatus for the winter break! To kick off 2022, Abby Kinney and regular cohost Chuck Marohn are looking at an article from Bloomberg, titled “U.S. Housing Crisis Only Gets Worse as Population Shrinks.”

While this may seem contradictory, a smaller population does not necessarily result in more affordable housing for those looking for it. The author, Conor Sen, argues that people don’t want to live in places that are shrinking, and there will be even less housing demand in metro areas that were stagnant before the pandemic.

Sen’s suggestion? When thinking about housing dynamics, we should start framing the U.S. as “384 metro areas (plus 50 million Americans who don't live in places big enough to qualify as a metro area) rather than one continuous country.” He argues this could help us understand where in the U.S. we might see continued decline or growth in population, and that national population stagnation could mean that housing affordability issues will worsen over time as people leave declining metro areas.

Abby and Chuck “upzone” this notion of population growth driving the prosperity of cities, analyzing it through the Strong Towns lens—starting with the underlying premise that drives this article’s thesis, in the first place.

“U.S. Housing Crisis Only Gets Worse as Population Shrinks,” by Conor Sen, Bloomberg (December 2021)

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

Charles Marohn (Twitter)

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$75 billion of support for at-risk renters and homeowners was distributed during the COVID pandemic to prevent evictions and foreclosures. Such a level of funding was spurred under the context that our country is facing an unprecedented and unpredictable emergency situation that is requiring disaster relief—but what about when the pandemic ends?

Should we consider reutilizing the systems that have been set up during COVID to distribute federal aid, to alleviate the pressures of the housing market? That’s what host Abby Kinney and regular co-host Chuck Marohn discuss on this week’s episode of Upzoned, where they address this “wickedest of wicked problems” through the Strong Towns lens.

Additional Show Notes

“America’s Housing Crisis Is a Disaster. Let’s Treat It Like One,” by Gregory Heller, Governing (November 2021)

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

Charles Marohn (Twitter)

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The moment everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived: The $1 trillion infrastructure bill is being signed into law. The bill will deliver $550 billion in new federal investments over the next five years, and includes $110 billion in new spending for highways, bridges, and roads. It also includes $105 billion for transit and rail investments, $65 billion for broadband upgrades, and a whole lot more—everything from investments in airports and ports to environmental remediation.

As one might imagine, the original aspirations of the bill from the perspective of a lot of people were not necessarily met, as the legislation required a consensus from all ends of the political compass. According to a recent article from The New York Times, critics of the bill are not only concerned with the particulars of what is funded, but also how the funding will be administered.

The decision for how half the money is spent falls on the states, meaning that states that are not aligned with what the federal government envisions for infrastructure spending (particularly with regard to racial equity) could neglect projects that would remediate the negative impacts of past infrastructure decisions, and potentially invest in projects that make matters worse.

This week on Upzoned, regular host Abby Kinney and special guest Strong Towns Board Member John Reuter take this article from The New York Times and “upzone” it. That is, they examine it through the Strong Towns lens—which was already plenty skeptical of the infrastructure bill to begin with, as our readers and listeners know!

Additional Show Notes

“Racial Equity in Infrastructure, a U.S. Goal, Is Left to States,” by Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Madeleine Ngo, The New York Times (November 2021)

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

John Reuter (Twitter)

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You may have noticed that bike lane projects tend to draw ire from neighborhood residents, but once they’re actually in place, residents realize they like their community when it’s more people centered and less car centered. Moreover, they tend to vote to reelect local leaders who implemented the bike projects in the first place.

A recent article from The Guardian examines this pattern in different international cities, where new bike infrastructure is first created, and, subsequently, the local leader (usually a mayor) who led the project gets reelected. This, in spite of the backlash (or, if you like, “bikelash”) that such bike projects get in angry tweets and article headlines.

The reasons behind this phenomenon are the subject of this week’s episode of Upzoned—hosted by special guests Strong Towns Program Director Rachel Quednau (who also hosts The Bottom-Up Revolution) and Strong Towns Board Member John Reuter.

By the way, it’s also Member Week at Strong Towns, and podcasts like Upzoned wouldn’t be possible without the support of our members! So join today to support the movement and help get this message out to more people who, like you, believe in making our places stronger and more financially resilient.

Additional Show Notes

“The bikelash paradox: how cycle lanes enrage some but win votes,” by Janette Sadik-Khan and Seth Solomonow, The Guardian (October 2021)

Check out The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast, hosted by Rachel, which features stories of the Strong Towns movement in action!

John Reuter (Twitter)

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Cover image source: Unsplash.

For the past couple of years, the website Zillow has expanded their business model into the home speculation and flipping game. The “Zillow Offers” program offers cash for homes, followed up by Zillow going in and implementing home renovations—and the company planned to do this with thousands of homes in 2021.

Yet now, two months before the year has even ended, Zillow announced that not only would it no longer be buying homes, but it also needs to offload thousands of the homes it did buy —and not to homeowners and landlords, but to institutional investors. Additionally, the company will be laying off 25% of its workforce, and estimates that it’ll lose over half a billion dollars.

Why? That’s the question on today’s episode of Upzoned: Using a recent article from The Verge as a springboard for discussion, host Abby Kinney and regular co-host Chuck Marohn discuss the possible reasons why Zillow has had to reverse course on its foray into the home-flipping business.

Additional Show Notes

“Zillow reportedly needs to sell 7,000 houses after it bought too many,” by Mitchell Clark, The Verge (November 2021)

Check out this 2019 episode of Upzoned that covered Zillow’s decision to start getting into the home-flipping business.

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

Charles Marohn (Twitter)

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It’s no secret here at Strong Towns that the many places that urbanists consider to be the most enduring and timeless and wonderful—from small towns to big cities—were the result of incremental development. In other words, they weren’t the result of careful planning, but rather of a decentralized process with ad hoc adaptation over time.

Rooted in the creation of these places were ecosystems of tradespeople, laborers, lenders, and small-scale developers. The latter, in particular, are the focus of Strong Towns Senior Editor Daniel Herriges’s recent series, Unleash the Swarm: Reviving Small-Scale Development in America’s Cities.

In this week’s special episode of Upzoned, host Abby Kinney talks with Daniel about incremental development, and what work still needs to be done in order to truly build up a “swarm” of small-scale developers across North America.

Read part one of Unleash the Swarm here, and sign up here to get a copy of the e-book for the series when it becomes available!

Abby Kinney (Twitter)

Daniel Herriges (Twitter)

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Cover image via Unsplash.