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Charles Marohn

@charles-marohn · 9 positions · 0 changes of mind

Civil engineer and land use planner, founder and president of Strong Towns, author of Escaping the Housing Trap. Argues that the American pattern of development since the Second World War does not generate enough wealth to maintain the infrastructure it obliges cities to keep.

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  1. Our reading

    We admire people for taking bold action with public money who in an earlier age would have been called hustlers.

    Their wordsSo whether it is Robert Moses then or Elon Musk today, people who would have – in a time past – been called charlatans or hustlers, now become deeply admired for their willingness to take bold action (with public money or supported by tax subsidies).

    ↗The Power of Growing Incrementallystrongtowns.org 1st of 4 in this piece

    Interesting

  3. Our reading

    Cities have only ever built wealth incrementally, by many small improvements over a long time, not by big projects.

    Their wordsYet, incremental investment is how cities have always built wealth.

    ↗The Power of Growing Incrementallystrongtowns.org 2nd of 4 in this piece

    Interesting

  5. Our reading

    The break in how cities are built is that places used to be improved continuously and are now built once, at scale, to a finished state.

    Their wordsPre-Depression development was incremental on a continuum of improvement while post-War development is built at a large scale to a finished state.

    ↗The Power of Growing Incrementallystrongtowns.org 3rd of 4 in this piece

    Interesting

  7. Our reading

    A neighbourhood redevelops itself when rising land values meet permission to build more intensely, and it stagnates when either half is missing.

    Their wordsIt is incrementally rising land values, combined with the ability to redevelop to something more intense, that naturally prompts the redevelopment of property in decline.

    ↗The Power of Growing Incrementallystrongtowns.org 4th of 4 in this piece

    Interesting
  8. 5 months earlier

  9. Our reading

    American cities built roughly two dollars of public infrastructure for every dollar of private investment, and that ratio is what bankrupts them.

    Their wordsThis thinking is how you end up with two dollars of public infrastructure for every one dollar of private investment.

    ↗The Real Reason Your City Has No Moneystrongtowns.org 1st of 3 in this piece

    Americainfrastructure

    Interesting

  11. Our reading

    Nearly every American city is functionally insolvent, because replacing the infrastructure it has built would cost more than its entire private tax base is worth.

    Their wordsIt's a predicament that nearly every American city, with very few exceptions, finds itself in.

    ↗The Real Reason Your City Has No Moneystrongtowns.org 2nd of 3 in this piece

    Americainfrastructure

    Interesting

  13. Our reading

    America's accumulated road, pipe and pavement is a bad investment, and no federal spending programme can make it a good one.

    Their wordsAll this infrastructure is a bad investment. America needs a different model of growth and development.

    ↗The Real Reason Your City Has No Moneystrongtowns.org 3rd of 3 in this piece

    Americainfrastructure

    Interesting
  14. 6 years earlier

  15. Our reading

    The American suburban pattern of development does not pay for itself: a city takes the cash from new growth and, with it, a maintenance bill it can never cover.

    Their wordsPut these two characteristics together and you have a key insight; Cities routinely trade near-term cash advantages associated with new growth for long-term financial obligations associated with maintenance of infrastructure.

    ↗The Growth Ponzi Scheme, Part 1strongtowns.org 1st of 2 in this piece

    Americainfrastructure

    Interesting

  17. Our reading

    Suburban growth is a Ponzi scheme because a city of finite size cannot keep growing at an accelerating rate, and only that would pay the bills it has taken on.

    Their wordsOf course, with the suburban model, it is physically impossible for a city of finite dimension to grow indefinitely, let alone at amounts that accelerate forever.

    ↗The Growth Ponzi Scheme, Part 1strongtowns.org 2nd of 2 in this piece

    Interesting