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Strong Towns

Sometimes, a hot new story will cross our desks that we need to talk about right away. That's where Upzoned comes in. Join Multistudio's Abby Newsham, Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn, and other guests to talk in depth about one big story from the week in the Strong Towns conversation, right when you want it: now.

Upzoned

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 allowed housing can still feel deeply disruptive — and what this reveals about zoning, design, and incremental change.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • "
Massive Multigenerational Home Addition Sparks Furious Debate in Virginia Community • " by Julie Taylor, Realtor.com (November 2025)

 • "
The Monster House: Why a Change in Neighborhood Scale Isn’t a Bad Thing • " by Emma Durand-Wood

 • "
Multigenerational Living Isn't Immigrant Culture, It's Human Culture • " by Shina Shayesteh

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

Edward Erfurt • (LinkedIn)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Why a Legal Home Addition Sparked Outrage in Fairfax County

Utah wants to override local zoning to boost housing supply, but allowed by right doesn't mean possible in practice. Abby and Edward dig into the hidden barriers — complicated permits, scarce financing, and broken systems — that stop housing from actually getting built.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • "
Utah’s Governor Suggests Overriding Local Zoning. Could His Plan Solve—or Shatter—the State’s Housing Future? • " by Allaire Conte, Realtor.com (November 2025)

 • "
Why State Housing Reform is Failing (and What We Can Do About It) • " by Edward Erfurt

Abby Newsham • (X/Twitter)

Edward Erfurt • (LinkedIn)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Zoning Reform Is Only Step 1 in Fighting the Housing Crisis

Who decides when community traditions change? Lafayette, Louisiana, recently rerouted its Mardi Gras parade. The goal was to improve public safety, but the change left neighborhoods, businesses, and long-standing customs in the lurch.

Guest host Norm Van Eeden Petersman sits down with Lafayette resident and former city staffer Carlee Alm-LaBar to explore how communities can navigate change while respecting culture and shared ownership.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • "
Residents, krewes, downtown businesses weigh in on Jefferson Street Mardi Gras parade route • " by Stephen Marcantel, The Acadiana Advocate (November 2025)

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

What Happens When Official Decisions Clash With Community Traditions?

Last week, we heard how DC's outdoor dining regulations threaten local businesses. Today, urban designers Abby Newsham and Edward Erfurt explore how DC could course-correct. They share creative ways that cities can maintain safety while supporting local businesses and even improving the design of their streets.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • "
After five years, D.C. streateries hit with higher costs and more rules • " by By Tim Carman and Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post (November 2025)

Painting of a food hall street • (Passeig de l'Escultor Miquel Blay, Olot, Espana by Abby Newsham)

Abby Newsham • (X/Twitter)

Edward Erfurt • (LinkedIn)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How To Fix Washington DC's New Rules for Outdoor Dining

Washington DC is charging restaurants thousands of dollars to keep their streateries — outdoor dining areas built during Covid-19. Are these fees fair compensation for public space, or will they kill the local businesses they were meant to save?

Guest host Norm Van Eeden Petersman dives into this question with Carlee Alm-LaBar, a former city official who helped bring streateries to her own city.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • "
After five years, D.C. streateries hit with higher costs and more rules • " by By Tim Carman and Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post (November 2025)

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

DC Is Charging Thousands for Outdoor Dining. Is This a Good Idea?

Abby is joined by Carlee Alm-LaBar, the chief of staff for Strong Towns, and John Reuter, advisory board member for Strong Towns. They discuss several stories of people across the country taking action to make their communities better, from building houses to painting curbs.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • It's Member Week at Strong Towns! 
Join the movement today!
 • Read more: 

Strong Towns San Diego - Curb Chalking
Monte Anderson - Roommate House
Strong Towns Langley - Baffle Gates
Strong Towns Blono - Design Charette
Strong Towns Nanaimo - Eliminating Parking Mandates
 • 

Abby Newsham • (X/Twitter)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

5 Ways Ordinary People Are Making Their Places Stronger

Elon Musk's company xAI is building massive data centers in Memphis, promising economic transformation. But at what cost? Abby is joined by Strong Towns Blog Editor and podcast host Asia Mieleszko to dissect the billion-dollar AI infrastructure boom and explore why cities keep falling for "shiny object urbanism."

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • Hear more from Asia on the brand-new podcast 
Stacked Against Us • !

 • "
Elon Musk Gambles Billions in Memphis to Catch Up on AI • " by Alexander Saeedy, The Wall Street Journal (October 2025)

 • "
Shiny Object Urbanism • " by Billy Cooney

 • "
Where's the Wealth? • " by Charles Marohn
‍
Abby Newsham • (X/Twitter)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

Hey listener! You hear from us all the time, but today we want to hear from you. We want your feedback on this podcast and any other Strong Towns podcast you like to listen to. Please fill out this quick survey to share your thoughts: strongtowns.org/survey

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Will Elon Musk's Data Centers Actually Help Memphis?

Two towns, two states, and two historic bridges that nobody wants to pay for. Brattleboro, Vermont, wants to reactivate two historic bridges with a pedestrian greenway. Hinsdale, New Hampshire, worries about increased crime and being saddled with the majority of maintenance costs while getting fewer returns. Abby and Norm discuss this dilemma, comparing it to similar bridge projects and identifying possible next steps for activating this underutilized infrastructure.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • "
Can Two Towns Preserve the Bridges That Connected Them? • " by Alan Wirzbicki, The Boston Globe (September 2025)

Abby Newsham • (X/Twitter)

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Historic Bridge Battle: Will 1 Town Profit While the Other Pays?

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.

When a Town's Biggest Taxpayer Becomes Its Biggest Problem

Littleton, Colorado, wants to ban everything other than single-family homes. The neighboring town of Lakewood wants to allow more housing variety. Norm and Abby dive into what's driving these radically different responses to the housing crisis and what happens when cities try to exempt themselves from change.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • “
Two Denver Suburbs Take Different Paths as Residents Face Housing Crunch: We Can Manage It, but Just Barely. • ” by John Aguilar, The Denver Post (October 2025).

 • Abby Newsham 

Painting Instagram
X/Twitter
 • 

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom • .

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

2 Towns, 2 Responses to the Housing Crisis. Which Will Succeed?

In this Upzoned episode, Abby is joined by Strong Towns Chief Technical Advisor Edward Erfurt to discuss the emergence of food deserts in the United States. In the 1980s, the U.S. government stopped enforcing price discrimination laws, letting large supermarkets use their size to leverage better prices from suppliers. This led to the closure of many small, independent groceries and helped create today's food deserts.

Abby and Edward discuss the shift from grocery stores being neighborhood assets to regional destinations and how that extracts wealth from communities. Then they share bottom-up ways that everyday people can address these food shortages in their communities.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • 

“The Great Grocery Squeeze: How a federal policy change in the 1980s created the modern food desert” by Stacy Mitchell, The Atlantic (December 2024).
 • 

 • 

Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
 • 

 • 

Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.
 •

Can We Take Community Wealth Back From Walmart and Kroger?

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