About a month ago, Strong Towns released this fantastic video on South Bend, Indiana that’s gone a bit viral within the planning and development world. I personally wish it would go viral to an enormous audience. It’s a remarkable story, and they called it, “Can American Cities Save Themselves? This One Thinks So.”

One of the protagonists in this story is Mike Keen, a retired professor who lives in South Bend. Mike joins me in this episode to dive deeper into how this all came together, and how he went from someone knowing nothing about business to one of the lead “conductors” in the symphony of small developers doing amazing work in South Bend.

This is real, difficult work. South Bend is not a sexy place like Austin, Nashville, or any other booming city. But it’s clearly a place that the people who live there love and care about, and are giving it renewed life. Through partnerships with Incremental Development Alliance, Neighborhood Evolution and with thoughtful local leadership, this community has changed its course.

What’s striking to me is that this particular story about South Bend is one that could be told hundreds of times over, for towns and cities of all sizes in the Midwest and Rust Belt. It’s about how people can recreate local economies, take ownership themselves, heal the scars of the past and help people find meaning in their lives. I find it absolutely inspiring.

One minor tangent - we talk a little bit about the idea of pre-approved building plans in this episode. Apologies to my friend Jen Griffin, who’s name I botched. But Jen and her friend and colleague Jen Settle have done some pioneering, ground-breaking work on this idea. I’ll explore that more in future podcasts.

Key links:

The Natural Step

Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin’s Substack page.

Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you’d like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.

Intro: “Why Be Friends”

Outro: “Fairweather Friend”