
Episode #262
Austin Slashed Rents to Record Lows. Families Left Anyway.
Austin added new housing three times faster than the rest of the country for a decade, and rents fell below the national average. Young families left anyway — enough that Austin's own schools are now closing for lack of kids. Ryan Puzycki sits on Austin's zoning board and says a decades-old code banned entire housing types, from fourplexes to corner stores mixed with apartments. He also ran a San Francisco preschool with a waitlist of hundreds, where teachers commuted 90 minutes each way just to afford rent. Timestamps: (00:00) The core stat – why "build more" isn't fixing housing (01:13) Meet Ryan – the man rewriting Austin's zoning code (06:25) Rents fell – but young families left Austin anyway (13:06) A preschool waitlist – San Francisco's scarcity problem up close Connect: Ryan Puzycki – Website Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

