Just a few decades ago, there were more opportunities for Americans to become homeowners or find stable, long-term rentals. Today, affordable housing is often out of reach as cities across the country are being transformed by large amounts of investment.

Housing is a basic building block for great cities. Charles Marohn, who kicked off the Library’s “Making a Great City” series in 2018, returns to Kansas City to talk about the new book, Escaping the Housing Trap: The Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis, which he co-wrote with Daniel Herriges.

In Escaping the Housing Trap, Marohn and Herriges explore the tension between housing as a financial product and housing as shelter – and how cities can fight back against the housing crisis.

Marohn, the founder and president of Strong Towns, discusses the history of the U.S. housing policy and how we got to where we are today by prioritizing housing as an investment. He also shares resources that every city in America could use to meet current housing demand.