Society & Culture
What do city budgets, wise infrastructure investments and mom and pop shops have to do with a livable city? Turns out, quite a lot. If our cities and our towns can’t make wise and measured investments in the right things, then it’s going to struggle to be a place that people can thrive in. How about progressive change, what does that have to do with livability? Also, quite a lot. Humans can only build, change and adapt to so many things in a short period of time. Building our cities into a state of “completion” in orderly but dumb prescriptive ways hinders the ability of a place to be identified with, loved and with a strong sense of care and ownership from those who live there. Chuck Marohn, founder of Strong Towns joins me today. For those not familiar with Strong Towns (you need to be!) is a personal blog turned into a non-profit media organization and member community leading the discussion around these kinds of topics. Chuck is a former civil engineer from the small town of Brainerd, Minnesota. He’s a friend of mine and someone I have and continue to look to to provide honest and profound perspective on what causes cities to thrive vs those that struggle and are in a state of persistent decline. Check out Strong Town’s website for a plethora of articles many directly relating to the livability of cities. Also pick up a copy of Chuck’s newest book, Strong Towns - A Bottom-Up Revolution To Rebuild American Prosperity. Brought to you by SquadCast and post-production by Creekmore Music.