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This is the 3rd video in the Strong Towns series, and is probably the most important core topic: the fact that American car-dependant cities and suburbs are financially insolvent, and function like a Ponzi scheme. This is the reason most American cities are bankrupt.

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https://strongtowns.org/membership

Watch the rest of this series here:
   • Strong Towns  

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This video is a summary of the "Growth Ponzi Scheme" articles, published by Strong Towns:
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growt...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...

Strong Towns publishes a lot of cases studies of American municipal insolvency. Here are a few of them:
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...

There is a lot more to read, too! Strong Towns has a library of articles about building strong and resilient towns and cities that goes back over 15 years:
https://www.strongtowns.org/stmedia

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Other References & Video Sources:

Give Yourself the Green Light (1954) (Public Domain)
Henry Jamison Handy
https://archive.org/details/GiveYour1954

According to Plan: The Story of Modern Sidewalls for the Homes of America
Henry Jamison Handy
https://archive.org/details/Accordin1952

Settlement Pattern and Form with Service Cost Analaysis
Halifax Regional Municipality - Regional Planning
https://usa.streetsblog.org/wp-conten...

Traditional Development - #6 in the Strong Towns Curbside Chat Video Series
Strong Towns (YouTube):
   • Traditional Development - #6 in the S...  


Chapters:

0:00 Intro
0:05 The History of Sprawl
1:03 What is a Ponzi Scheme?
1:51 The Problem
2:19 How it Started
4:17 Graphical Examples
6:27 The Excuses
7:35 The Canadian Example
8:12 Conclusion
9:02 Patreon Shoutout
9:18 Outro