Unpacking The Myth That Growth Pays For Growth

About this episode

The episode discusses the shortcomings of development cost charges in making growth self-sustaining, highlighting various regional examples and their impacts on housing and municipal finances.

Development cost charges are supposed to make growth pay for itself, but this conversation shows just how far that promise falls short. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Michel Durand-Wood, and Dan Winer unpack Ontario’s deal to halve development charges, British Columbia’s per‑unit fee structure that punishes small infill, and Winnipeg’s court battle over impact fees. They reveal how these choices ripple into housing prices, municipal deficits, and whether existing neighborhoods ever see the gentle density and local services they’ve been promised. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES "City Councillors Fear 'Devil in the Details' in Federal-Provincial Housing Fund" by Arthur White-Crummery, CBC.ca (March 2026) Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Dan Winer (LinkedIn) Dear Winnipeg (Site) You'll Pay For This! (Book) Articles mentioned and Downzone: Readying B.C. to deliver more homes for people in communities (Article) The Party Analogy (Article) The Master and His Emissary, Ian McGilchrist (Book) Murderland, Caroline Fraser (Book) Shrill Season 1 (Prime Video) An Inside Job, Daniel Silva (Book) Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom. This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn…

People in this episode

Host: Strong Towns

Guests: Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Michel Durand-Wood, Dan Winer

Topics covered

• development charges
• housing prices
• municipal deficits
• impact fees
• gentle density
• local services

Keywords

• development cost charges
• growth
• housing
• municipal finance
• impact fees
• Ontario
• British Columbia
• Winnipeg

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Strong Towns, CBC.ca

Books & works: You'll Pay For This!, The Master and His Emissary, Murderland, An Inside Job, Shrill Season 1

Places: Ontario, British Columbia, Winnipeg

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