A Strong Towns View of the New SpaceX Company Town
Residents of Boca Chica, Texas, have voted to turn their community into a new official city called Starbase. This new municipality is tightly controlled by SpaceX leadership and most residents are SpaceX employees, which has raised concerns about the reemergence of company towns.
In this Upzoned episode, Abby is joined by our Chief Technical Advisor Edward Erfurt to discuss the Strong Towns perspective on this story.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
“Elon Musk’s company town: SpaceX employees vote to create ‘Starbase’” by Nick Robins-Early, The Guardian (May 2025).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.
--------
43:36
California Universities Face a $17 Billion Growth Ponzi Scheme
As of the 2023-24 academic year, the University of California faces $9.1 billion in deferred maintenance, while California State University faces $8.3 billion. In today’s episode, Chuck and Abby explore how this problem arose, how it mirrors the challenges cities are facing, and what it'll take to manage this decline.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
“Inside a $17 billion maintenance backlog plaguing California’s universities” by Victoria Mejicanos, Matthew Reagan and Mercy Sosa, CalMatters (April 2025).
Learn more about the Growth Ponzi Scheme and how to evaluate your own city’s financial position.
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Substack)
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.
--------
55:57
Will Privatizing Mortgages Fix the Housing Market?
President Trump has proposed the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, organizations that back the majority of mortgages in the U.S. and have been under a government conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis. In this Upzoned episode, Chuck and Abby discuss the proposal and how it would affect the housing market.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
“How Trump plans to get government out of the mortgage business” by Paige Sutherland and Meghna Chakrabarti, WBUR On Point (March 2025).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Substack)
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.
--------
58:37
Can We Take Community Wealth Back From Walmart and Kroger?
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.
--------
48:57
What Does the Future Look Like for Tiny Towns?
Co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the challenges faced by Victoria, Prince Edward Island, a town in Canada that only has 139 full-time residents. In an attempt to attract new residents, the town has adopted its first five-year development plan.
Chuck and Abby talk about how very small towns like Victoria show the absurdities of the Suburban Experiment best — and feel its consequences most keenly. They explore what the future could look like for communities like this and emphasize the importance of embracing the things that make a specific town special instead of trying to copy suburban subdivisions.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
“Population growth called 'critical' for the sustainability of Victoria, P.E.I.” by Sara Fraser, CBC News (February 2025).
Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).
Chuck Marohn (Substack).
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.
Join Abby Newsham, Chuck Marohn and occasional surprise guests to talk in depth about one big story from the week in the Strong Towns conversation, right when you want it: now.
Polska