Rowhouses for America

Rowhouses for America

From The Messy City Podcast by Kevin Klinkenberg

April 7, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

Bobby Fijan discusses the importance of family-friendly urban living and his work with the American Housing Corporation to create better housing solutions.

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

People in this episode

Host: Kevin Klinkenberg

Guest: Bobby Fijan

Topics covered

  • urban living
  • family-friendly housing
  • city planning
  • rowhouses
  • community development

Keywords

  • rowhouses
  • urban infill
  • family housing
  • city families
  • housing development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American Housing Corporation, low standards

Books & works: Why Be Friends, Fairweather Friend

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