Charles Marohn

In the 1960s, US highway engineers planned to used atomic explosions to flatten parts of the Rocky Mountains for highway construction.

Recommend this podcast. I've tuned into loads of Chuck Marohn podcasts over the years, so much was familiar — but the questions and conversation flow were really good. Worth a listen, especially if you have never heard @clmarohn speak before.

We don’t have a transportation funding problem. We have a venue problem. It’s time to declare the Interstate construction era complete and redefine the federal role. New white paper + live discussion Thursday strongtowns.org/event/virtual-…

@JonathanSteckly Ultimately, we will continue to be frustrated by outcomes if we define the housing market in only one dimension (supply), instead of defining it in at least two (supply + finance).

@JonathanSteckly Not sure where to start -- couldn't read it all, sorry -- but if you're a ST member, you should come to the new Commons we've launched and have this conversation with others. Just DM me and I can get you the member link for it.

For years, housing debates have leaned on a simple promise: build enough homes and prices will fall. It’s an appealing idea. Technical problem. Technical fix. Anyone on this site has seen the rigid enforcement of a simplistic narrative on housing. Oh, the tweets I could dunk.

And anyone wanting to explore the real complexity of housing, and the Strong Towns response to the current crisis, there is a bestselling book for you: "Escaping the Housing Trap." strongtowns.org/book

Taken together, it feels like the debate is shifting. Not because the problem changed, but because housing was never as simple as many of us hoped it would be. strongtowns.org/journal/2026-2…

For those of you new to this 5+ year old saga, here's a column I wrote back in 2022: archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2022/8…

In federal court today. Not for practicing engineering improperly but for speaking critically of the profession while not practicing at all. This case asks whether a licensing board can use state power to punish speech it disagrees with. I believe the answer is no.

"Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution" was published back in 2019. That is continues to be at or near a top ranking says a lot about how many people are still arriving at the same set of questions. That steady arrival is how change happens. ❤️

@ianreilly_arch Surprised?

@clmarohn I guess we have our answer on the Administration’s plans…

The latest White house housing order isn’t about stopping Wall Street from buying homes. It’s about making sure Wall Street can stop buying without losing money. That’s an exit strategy, a bailout, not a crackdown.

Two hours with Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert and city staff talking about the hard work of building strong cities. Thoughtful leadership + engaged staff is where change actually begins.

GOP candidate drops out of MN governor race: “I can’t look my daughters in the eye and say I’m running as a Republican, when they’re pulling over Hispanics and Asians because of the color of the skin and what they look like. I did not sign up for that.” wsj.com/politics/polic…

@ianreilly_arch Financial investors want to buy low and sell high. Hosing prices are high and need to drop. If they drop too far, or too fast, then it will wreck the financial system. If they drop slow and shallow, everyone loses a bit but probably not system-wrecking.

@clmarohn I guess my question is: is there a realistic scenario in which prices are lowered and financial institutions take the hit? I’m not well versed in economics so I’m genuinely asking.

@ianreilly_arch If prices drop -- which they are -- and that becomes significant, we'll just see families and small landlords take the losses, after which we'll invite financial institutions back in to "rescue" the market. There is no real top-down affordability agenda.

@clmarohn You article is excellently written. What’s unclear to me, though, is whether or not this is still a good thing. It’s less revolutionary than advertised, but is it at least a step in the right direction? Will this open the door to policies that encourage affordability?