The Real Reason Cities Are Losing Young Families - Aaron Renn & Bobby Fijan | #78

Jan 13, 2026

01:02:52

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Today, Nathan Halberstadt sits down with Aaron Renn (Senior Fellow at American Reformer and Author of "Life in the Negative World") and Bobby Fijan (Co-Founder, The American Housing Corporation) to discuss the real reason big cities are losing young families, the life cycle of cities vs. suburbs, where young people should live during their early career, and better floor plans to make apartments and rowhomes more family-friendly.

Aaron Renn is Cofounder and Senior Fellow at American Reformer. He also writes on cultural topics at aaronrenn.substack.com. Renn was previously an urban policy researcher, writer, and consultant. He was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research for five years. His work has been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Atlantic.

https://www.aaronrenn.com/

Bobby Fijan, "the Bill James of Floorplans," is a real estate developer and Co-Founder of The American Housing Corporation. He advocates for family-friendly urban housing–rowhomes and kid-suited apartments–to reverse family flight and boost city birth rates. He hosts the "Why We Don't Build Apartments for Families" podcast and is a frequent commentator on housing policy and urbanism.

https://americanhousing.co/

Timestamps:

04:38 – Demographic Shifts in America’s Cities

07:30 – Housing Cost Disparities: Austin vs. LA

08:17 – The Life Cycle of Cities vs. Suburbs

16:48 – Where Should Ambitious Young People Live?

24:40 – Why Do Families Leave the City?

32:43 – The Importance of Floor Plans and Extra Rooms

36:33 – Proximity, Trust, and the Realities of Urban Density

39:19 – Carmel, Indiana: Recipe for Community Success

44:06 – High-Trust Communities and Public Order

46:55 – Roundabouts: Carmel’s Unique Traffic Solution