15 – Is debt a bad thing for cities?

[Some of you may have had a sound issue at the beginning of this podcast. We've fixed it but it still might show up for some listeners. Sorry about that!]

This is the second of a short series on city growth. Are there good ways or bad ways to grow? In this episode, we're asking: What should a city's relationship with debt look like? Are there bad debts? Are there good debts for a city to take on?

Felix Landry (Verdunity's resident city planner and data geek) is back on this week's episode to talk with Jordan about the following:

• Can we say that taking on debt is good or bad, whether in personal life or as a city using tax dollars?


• What are most cities currently using debt to finance?


• Are there types of debt that are more risky than others? Are some uses of debt a better bet?


• How does a city's development pattern increase or decrease its likelihood of needing to take on debt? And how does debt inform the city's land use pattern?


• How does debt play into a city's economic development scheme?

It's a full episode, and despite its length, we still didn't get to cover nearly as much as there is to say about the subject of debt and cities. We'd love for you to inform the way this discussion progresses. Do you have thoughts? We want to hear from you. Email us: [email protected].

The Go Cultivate! podcast is a project of Verdunity. Learn more at verdunity.com.

(The music in this episode is from Custodian of Records.)