Who is Chuck Marohn and why an I interviewing him?
Chuck Marohn is the founder of the non-profit, Strong Towns, an organization designed to making communities across America and Canada financially strong and resilient.
He is also the author of several books, the most recent of which is Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild America.
While municipal development is not a topic I ever thought I would become interested in, Chuck persuaded me that it is something everyone should be concerned about.
Chuck makes the case that many of our towns and cities since WWII have traded short-term growth and development in exchange for long term liabilities, which will ultimately bankrupt them.
What I found particularly interesting about Chuck’s take on development is that he draws on the same core concept I did for AWP: that the ancients have something to teach us.
This central idea is what makes me believe that ancient wisdom can help us personally. Chuck believes that this idea can guide us in building strong, resilient, and desirable towns and cities that are not only sustainable long-term, but can help up flourish as human beings.
What will you learn from this episode?
If you listen to the whole episode, you can expect to learn
- Why many of our towns and cities are likely to fail, despite the best of intentions
- Why the modern development pattern might be making us more anxious, more depressed, and more lonely
- How the ancients continue to transmit knowledge through “spooky wisdom”
- How to choose a place to live if you don’t feel like you’re a member of strong community
It’s a long interview but I promise you’ll get a lot of out it.
Enjoy!