Episode

Rowhouses for America

Podcast
The Messy City Podcast
Published
Apr 7, 2026
Duration seconds
2949
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/p/rowhouses-for-america
Audio
https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193093758/40c7c0b0f1c096e9ce09961e89828b1b.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040/episodes/rowhouses-for-america
Markdown
/podcast/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040/rowhouses-for-america.md

Actions

  • POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040/episodes/rowhouses-for-america/transcription-requests
    Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
  • GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-messy-city-podcast-6070040/rowhouses-for-america.md
    Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

Summary

Bobby Fijan doesn’t want you to give up on families living in cities. One thing he said in this episode that really stuck out with me, “People tolerate disorder less when kids are around.” I think that’s right on, and that we too easily acquiesce to the notion that cities are just for the young, or the retired. Bobby , like many of my guests, isn’t content to just talk about the issues. He’s become relentless in his pursuit of the best family-friendly floor plans for urban living, and has now taken that to the creation of the American Housing Corporation . Their motto might as well be, “rowhouses for all.” Bobby and his partners are pursuing true vertical integration of a nationwide development company, with the goal of doing really great urban infill housing. Can they do it? I wouldn’t bet against them. 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 ” Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe