A recent article from The Wall Street Journal posits that “The U.S. Is Running Short of Land for Housing.” Land values in favorable locations are booming right now, and land owners across the country are, in some cases, making extremely high returns on their long-term holdings—so long as conditions enable their land to support development.
Such opportunities are, according to the article, very limited. The U.S. is filled with a lot of open space, and one might think that means we have plenty of space for housing. But in order to support housing, this author believes that land needs to be positioned in a few different ways.
So, what are the three major requirements, according to The Wall Street Journal, that enable development potential in any given plot of land—and what’s the Strong Towns take on this?
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“The U.S. Is Running Short of Land for Housing,” by Konrad Putzier, The Wall Street Journal (September 2022).


Abby Kinney (Twitter).


Chuck Marohn (Twitter).


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We Have Plenty of Land in the United States. But Can All of It Support Housing?

Join Abby Kinney, Chuck Marohn, and occasional surprise guests to talk in depth about just one big story from the week in the Strong Towns conversation, right when you want it: now.

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The city of Cincinnati has pledged $200k to keep the popular bikeshare program Red Bike alive for another year. Joining us to talk about bikeshare programs and Red Bike’s financial difficulties is Bryce Mortera, a member of Civic Cincinnati. Are these programs really beneficial for residents? And if so, is there a more sustainable way to fund them than relying on sponsors?

Cincinnati Pledges $200K in Funding for Popular Bikeshare Service

The U.S. Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into a major software company called RealPage, which is described in the lawsuit as the “big tech” company of rental housing. It provides software that is used by landlords (and, typically, landlords who are large holders of rental property) to estimate supply and demand for their listings in order to help them maximize rents. The question is whether or not RealPage is facilitating algorithmic price fixing for some of the largest residential property owners and management firms—amounting to what DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb has described as a “housing cartel.” And since Strong Towns has just released Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis, we figured there was no better time to discuss this story than now.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Order your copy of Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis today!


“DOJ escalates price-fixing probe on housing market,” by Josh Sisco, Politico (March 2024).


Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Chuck Marohn (X/Twitter).


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Department of Justice Opens Criminal Investigation Into “Housing Cartel”

Since the 1970s, the number of cars on I-70 between Denver and its surrounding resorts have jumped more than 500%. Coloradans and frequent visitors know that, in order to reach the mountains during the gridlock of ski season, you must leave as early as 3 or 4 a.m. in the morning. Writer Gloria Liu decided to investigate this chaos by jumping directly into the traffic and interviewing the people stuck in it, and the article she penned about her adventure is up for discussion on this week’s episode of Upzoned. Can I-70 be fixed? And what do famous recreational arterials like I-70 reveal about our relationship with nature in the U.S.?
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Colorado’s I-70 Has America’s Most Notorious Ski Traffic. Is There a Solution?” by Gloria Liu, Outside (March 2024).


Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Chuck Marohn (X/Twitter).


Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

Inside the Notorious Gridlock of Colorado's I-70

Cincinnati is currently undergoing a significant planning reformation effort, which involves unveiling what’s being called the Connected Communities plan. It includes a number of proposed land-use-related policy changes that are intended to help Cincinnati grow, with the goal of advancing zoning code changes, as well as supporting diversification and affordability of housing and bolstering business districts. Here on Upzoned this week to talk with host Abby Newsham about the proposal is John Yung, an urban planner, Program Manager at the Haile Foundation, and co-leader of the Cincy host committee for the upcoming Congress for the New Urbanism, which (along with the Strong Towns National Gathering) will be taking place in Cincinnati in May.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Mayor Pureval wants to redesign Cincinnati. Here's what that could look like,” by Becca Costello, WVXU (January 2024).


Get your tickets for the National Gathering today!


Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

“Redesigning” Cincinnati With the Connected Communities Plan

On this week’s episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham and co-host Chuck Marohn are joined by Coby Lefkowitz, who penned the article that’s up for discussion: “Why small developers are getting squeezed out of the housing market.” It focuses on how finance shapes our cities, why debt is used to develop cities in the first place, how lenders deal with risk, and why risk mitigation is critical to understanding why the world looks the way it does. And, most notably, it dives into America's housing financial system and why it privileges large-scale institutional development at the expense of more incremental and community-based building.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

“Why small developers are getting squeezed out of the housing market,” by Coby Lefkowitz, Noahpinion (March 2024).


Coby Lefkowitz (Website; X/Twitter).


Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).


Chuck Marohn (Twitter/X).


Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

We Have Plenty of Land in the United States. But Can All of It Support Housing?

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