On Talking Headways: Stacy Mitchell on How Zoning Laws favor Corporate Monopolies

Most cities and towns have adopted zoning policies that are pro-monopoly. On the Talking Headways podcast, Stacy Mitchell talked with Jeff Wood about how the rules that govern our built environment have fueled corporate concentration and harmed democracy. During this compelling conversation, Mitchell not only explains how a 1980s shift in Antitrust enforcement led to today’s food deserts, but also how our zoning and transportation policies also favored big business. In her telling, we’ve created the perfect habitat for Walmart while degrading the habitat that fosters local business. Ultimately, Mitchell knits these threads together to look at how the loss of Main Streets and rise of inequality and powerlessness have undermined our civic fabric and faith in democratic institutions. Finally, Mitchell and Wood talk a bit about the progress on antimonopoly and why keeping it going is part of how we fight rising authoritarianism.