A Massachusetts town budgeted $600,000 for snow and ended up spending $6 million clearing its streets. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Daniel Herriges, and Gracen Johnson trace the links between winter operations, stormwater, supply chains, labor, and land use in cities facing serious snow. Starting with Boston’s overrun numbers, they widen the lens to Ottawa’s snow storage sites and Minneapolis’ potholes, asking what happens when seasonal extremes collide with tight city budgets.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
<ul>
<li>"<a href='https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/30/science/winter-cleanup-snow-budget-climate-change/'>‘That comes with a price tag’: How snow removal is busting town budgets</a>" by Kate Selig, Bostonglobe.com (March 2026)</li>
<li>"<a href='https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/1/5/the-cost-of-an-extra-foot'>The Cost of an Extra Foot</a>" by Chuck Marohn</li>
<li>"<a href='https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2010/3/24/transactions-of-decline.html'>Transactions of Decline</a>" by Chuck Marohn</li>
<li>Downzone:
<ul>
<li>"<a href='https://www.housingeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cost-based%20social%20rental%20housing%20in%20Europe%20-%20December%202021%20PRINT.pdf'>Cost-Based Social Rental Housing in Europe</a>" (Web PDF)</li>
<li><a href='https://the.ink/'>The Ink </a>(Substack)</li>
<li><a href='https://greatplainspress.ca/books/youll-pay-for-this-how-we-can-afford-a-great-city-for-everyone-forever/'>You'll Pay For This!</a> (Site)</li>
<li><a href='https://www.criminalbroads.com/episodes'>Criminal Broads</a> (Site)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/normvep/'>Norm Van Eeden Petersman</a> (LinkedIn)</li>
<li><a href='http://linkedin.com/in/dherriges'>Daniel Herriges</a> (LinkedIn)</li>
<li><a href='http://linkedin.com/in/gracenjohnson'>Gracen Johnson</a> (LinkedIn)</li>
<li><a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?ab_channel=KemetColeman&amp;v=_Xa_lfMoDqI'>Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom</a>.</li>
</ul>
 



















This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. <a href='https://www.strongtowns.org/membership?utm_source=podbean&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=membership&amp;utm_content=20251217_podbean_podcast_upz-housing-outrage-fairfax'>Click here to learn more</a> about membership.

<description>&lt;p&gt;A Massachusetts town budgeted $600,000 for snow and ended up spending $6 million clearing its streets. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Daniel Herriges, and Gracen Johnson trace the links between winter operations, stormwater, supply chains, labor, and land use in cities facing serious snow. Starting with Boston’s overrun numbers, they widen the lens to Ottawa’s snow storage sites and Minneapolis’ potholes, asking what happens when seasonal extremes collide with tight city budgets.&lt;/p&gt;
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;"&lt;a href='https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/30/science/winter-cleanup-snow-budget-climate-change/'&gt;‘That comes with a price tag’: How snow removal is busting town budgets&lt;/a&gt;" by Kate Selig, Bostonglobe.com (March 2026)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;"&lt;a href='https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/1/5/the-cost-of-an-extra-foot'&gt;The Cost of an Extra Foot&lt;/a&gt;" by Chuck Marohn&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;"&lt;a href='https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2010/3/24/transactions-of-decline.html'&gt;Transactions of Decline&lt;/a&gt;" by Chuck Marohn&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Downzone:
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;"&lt;a href='https://www.housingeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cost-based%20social%20rental%20housing%20in%20Europe%20-%20December%202021%20PRINT.pdf'&gt;Cost-Based Social Rental Housing in Europe&lt;/a&gt;" (Web PDF)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='https://the.ink/'&gt;The Ink &lt;/a&gt;(Substack)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='https://greatplainspress.ca/books/youll-pay-for-this-how-we-can-afford-a-great-city-for-everyone-forever/'&gt;You'll Pay For This!&lt;/a&gt; (Site)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='https://www.criminalbroads.com/episodes'&gt;Criminal Broads&lt;/a&gt; (Site)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/normvep/'&gt;Norm Van Eeden Petersman&lt;/a&gt; (LinkedIn)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='http://linkedin.com/in/dherriges'&gt;Daniel Herriges&lt;/a&gt; (LinkedIn)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='http://linkedin.com/in/gracenjohnson'&gt;Gracen Johnson&lt;/a&gt; (LinkedIn)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?ab_channel=KemetColeman&amp;amp;v=_Xa_lfMoDqI'&gt;Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;



















&lt;p&gt;This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. &lt;a href='https://www.strongtowns.org/membership?utm_source=podbean&amp;amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;amp;utm_campaign=membership&amp;amp;utm_content=20251217_podbean_podcast_upz-housing-outrage-fairfax'&gt;Click here to learn more&lt;/a&gt; about membership.&lt;/p&gt;


















</description>

A Massachusetts town budgeted $600,000 for snow and ended up spending $6 million clearing its streets. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Daniel Herriges, and Gracen Johnson trace the links between winter operations, stormwater, supply chains, labor, and land use in cities facing serious snow. Starting with Boston’s overrun numbers, they widen the lens to Ottawa’s snow storage sites and Minneapolis’ potholes, asking what happens when seasonal extremes collide with tight city budgets.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

"‘That comes with a price tag’: How snow removal is busting town budgets" by Kate Selig, Bostonglobe.com (March 2026)
"The Cost of an Extra Foot" by Chuck Marohn
"Transactions of Decline" by Chuck Marohn
Downzone:

"Cost-Based Social Rental Housing in Europe" (Web PDF)
The Ink (Substack)
You'll Pay For This! (Site)
Criminal Broads (Site)


Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
Daniel Herriges (LinkedIn)
Gracen Johnson (LinkedIn)
Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.

 



















This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.




















Upzoned

The $600K Snow Budget That Became a $6 Million Problem

The $600K Snow Budget That Became a $6 Million Problem

Description