Shows / The Bottom-Up Revolution
The Bottom-Up Revolution
The Bottom-Up Revolution features the stories of the Strong Towns movement in action. Hosted by Tiffany Owens Reed and Norm Van Eeden Petersman, it's all about how regular people have stepped up to make their communities more economically resilient, and how others can implement these ideas in their own places. We’ll talk about taking concrete action steps, connecting with fellow advocates to build power, and surviving the bumps along the way—all in the pursuit of creating stronger towns. Each…
Episodes
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
From ADUs To Improv Chicago Builds Stronger Streets
Chicago organizers Ellen Steinke and Dr. Chloe Groome walk through the fight to re-legalize ADUs, fix single-family zoning, and head off a looming transit…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
From Parklets To Pilots, Sheboygan Reclaims Its Streets
Brian Kelly and Braden Schmidt went from curious residents to leaders helping redesign streets, modernize zoning, and unlock safer, more affordable…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Madison Turned Small Experiments Into Safer Streets
After repeated crashes into a beloved coffee shop, residents in Madison, Wisconsin pushed for a fast, inexpensive lane change instead of another long…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Inside West Allis's Playbook for Stronger Local Economies
Steve Schaer and Patrick Schloss share how landlocked, eleven‑square‑mile West Allis, Wisconsin has become one of metro Milwaukee’s most business‑friendly…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Building Community With The Neighbors You Already Have
When Graham McBain moved to Sacramento, he realized he had no local friends—just nearby houses. In this episode, he shares the simple, sometimes scary steps…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Vibrant Lafayette Organizes Parents for Safer Streets
Most parents worry about safer routes to school but can’t track every plan or attend every meeting. In Lafayette, Kirk Wandy and Brian Parsons help lead…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Starting Where You Stand: The Great Raleigh Cleanup Story
Instead of waiting for permission or a grand plan, Preston Ross III started picking up trash on his own block—and kept going. Learn how that simple habit…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
What Jasper Teaches Us About Beating Mega Projects
A small Indiana city took on a 54‑mile, $3.4 billion highway with yard signs, town halls, and hard numbers. Mark Nowotarski traces six years of grassroots…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Building Culture Around Beauty, Craft, And Daily Life
In an era of quick, generic construction, Austin Tunnell makes the case for caring about beauty and craft. He shares lessons from masonry, small‑scale…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How One Front Yard Became a Neighborhood Pop Up
Discover how Denton mom and civic advocate Lauren Penn turned her front yard into a thriving micro market for local makers and families, all without a big…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
From Empty Lots to Budget Gaps: Mapping Portland
Downtown Portland is full of vacant lots, surface parking, and struggling storefronts—and every one of them has a price tag. Sam and Jeremiah break down how…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
From Biostatistics to Better Streets in Fayetteville
After moving through nine states, Aaron Caldwell chose Fayetteville as home—and started using his data skills to decode city finances and a key local bond. In…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How One Tiny House Helped Shift Boise’s Housing Rules
After the recession upended her architecture career, building a tiny house on wheels helped Macy Miller recover financially and dramatically lower her housing…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Walking, Visibility, And One Mom’s Fight For Safer Streets
After seeing a neighbor struck by a car — again — Abigail Hoiland set out to make people walking impossible to overlook. She shares how Stop Umbrella works on…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How One Ballot Initiative Could Legalize Affordable Starter Homes
Andrew Mikula is leading a grassroots campaign to put affordable housing on the Massachusetts ballot in 2026. The initiative would legalize single-family homes…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Do You Build Safe Streets in Car-Dependent Places?
Columbia, South Carolina, is the 12th deadliest metro for pedestrians in America. Columbia resident Regan Freeman is working to change that, as the director of…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Floor Plans Drive Families from Cities (and What Helps Them Stay)
Most city apartments are designed for roommates, not families with babies. Bobby Fijan, co-founder of The American Housing Corporation, explains how floor…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Bringing the Strong Towns Conversation to a Growing City
Nick Frevold launched a Strong Towns Local Conversation in Huntsville, Alabama — and found more demand than he expected. He shares what it took to get started…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Is Crowdfunding A Good Way To Fund Local Projects?
What if your neighborhood could raise the money it needs without waiting for grants or traditional funding? Kathleen Minogue, founder of Crowdfund Better…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
The Best Street Safety Win Is One Nobody Notices
Some of the most important street safety victories don’t make the news. After a personal tragedy, Josh Stewart devoted himself to making streets safer. Today…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Can Free Range Parenting Work in the Modern City?
When a nine-year-old rides the subway alone, is that neglect or normal childhood? Lenore Skenazy, a speaker, writer, and reality show host who was once dubbed…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Avoid Burnout by Bringing Joy Into Your Advocacy
Strong Towns Chicago learned that fun isn't frivolous — it's essential for sustainable advocacy. Leader Alex Montero shares how the Local Conversation group…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Small Projects Can Expose Big City Problems
Jennifer Truman didn’t set out to be a housing or transit advocate, but after running into the same problems while designing small projects in Raleigh, North…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Love of Place Grows Into Community Leadership
What does it look like to actively love the place you live? Tiffany Owens Reed talks with New Haven Alder Caroline Tanbee Smith about community-building…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How a One-Stop Website Could Help Beat the Housing Crisis
Norm sits down with Connor Legros, an undergrad student studying city planning and administration. Connor explains how he's creating a one-stop-shop for…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Small Wins, Big Transformations: Introducing Mary Kate Norton
In this special episode, Norm introduces Mary Kate Norton, Strong Towns' new Mobilization Coordinator and Trainer. Mary Kate shares about her background in…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Get Local Businesses On Board With Street Safety
When a tragic car crash forced street safety changes in Chattanooga, Tennessee, local businesses panicked about losing customers. But they soon discovered that…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How a Georgia City Made Missing Middle Housing Legal
What happens when a planner stops following broken rules and starts rewriting them instead? Brad Callender, director of planning and zoning for Monroe…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Bike Buses and Walkable Streets Help Kids Thrive
Megan Ramey has advocated for kid-friendly transportation for over a decade, culminating in her role as the Safe Routes to School Manager for Hood River…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
The Money Angle: How To Win Over Skeptics
Your downtown isn't a money pit — it's a money pot. When Medicine Hat, Alberta, discovered the real financial value of traditional urban form, it sparked…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Activate Volunteers and Build Trust at the Neighborhood Level
In her day job, Victoria Via is an architect who designs affordable housing. In her off hours, she's one of the leaders of a powerhouse Local Conversation in…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Turn Public Data Into Stories That Drive Change
What happens when a data analyst starts studying their hometown's finances? For Karl Urich, it meant seeing Albany, New York, in a whole new light. Karl shares…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Design Urban Places That People Love
Why do some places make us want to stay forever while others repel us? In honor of Member Week, we're bringing back a great episode with architect Will…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
What 50 Interviews Taught Me About Community Action
Strong Towns members are doing remarkable things in their communities, but none of it requires magic abilities. Norm shares what he's learned from 50…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How to Talk About Street Safety So People Actually Listen
Many cities will greenlight a billion-dollar highway but struggle to paint a crosswalk. Liza Burkin has spent 12 years changing that through advocacy, private…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How to Turn Small Community Actions Into a Big Impact
Dr. Shakeel Dalal builds spaceships for a living, and he never planned to run for mayor of Longmont, Colorado. He just kept doing the next small thing that…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Convince Your City To Embrace Tactical Urbanism
What if you could change a dangerous street today instead of waiting 10 years? Isaac Gonzalez founded the advocacy group Slow Down Sacramento to prove that you…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Reclaim Dignity and Safety for Nondrivers
McKenzie Ortiz is the founder of Pedestrian Pride, a digital storytelling project that uplifts the realities of life for working-class people who can't drive…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Run for Office at 24 — and Win Support
Sam Foster is an engineer, Local Conversation leader, and mayoral candidate in Marietta, Georgia. He joins Norm to talk about why he's running for office at 24…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Make Starting a Small Business Easy and Cheap
Zoe Tishaev and Dylan DelliSanti work for the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit, public interest law firm. As part of the Cities Work program, they partner…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How One Bus Driver Is Inspiring Safer Streets
Tyler Moldovan is a bus driver, urban advocate, and community organizer in Port Huron, Michigan. Today, he joins Norm to share how his work in transit, street…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Fight a Highway Project — and Actually Win
Kyle and Beverly Greenwood brought together nearly 2,000 residents to stop a proposed highway in Brazos County, Texas. What began with a single flyer turned…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Bring More Affordable Housing Options to Colorado
Mary Coddington is the founder of Twelve Inc., an affordable housing consulting firm based in Colorado. She also serves on the Denver Planning Board and works…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Permaculture Design Principles Can Make Cities More Resilient
Linda Appel Lipsius is the executive director of Denver Urban Gardens, where she supports a network of over 200 gardens and food forests that produce 650,000…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Strategic Boldness Transformed Santa Fe’s Transportation Plan
Erick Aune is the director of the Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization, as well as a member of Strong Towns Santa Fe. He’s spearheading a major shift in…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Run for City Council as a Self-Taught Advocate
Norm steps in for Tiffany on this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution. He's joined by Donna Boelen, who served on the city council of Bloomington, Illinois…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Live & Grow Wisely in the Utah Desert
What does it mean to live wisely and grow well in the desert? Judith Rognli of Strong Towns WashCo shares how St. George residents are facing water scarcity…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Bring Community Projects to Life Quickly and Effectively
Butch Roussel is the founder of the 24 Hour Citizen Project, an annual event that connects everyday citizens with the expertise and resources they need to…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How 296 Strong Towns Advocacy Groups Are Changing the World
In this special episode of Bottom-Up Shorts, Norm is joined by John Pattison, Strong Towns' community builder and head of the Local Conversations program. They…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How To Build Community Wealth From the Bottom Up
Jessica David and Josh Daley are co-founders of Local Return, a nonprofit in Rhode Island dedicated to building community wealth through ownership and…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Building Safe Streets for All in Brighton, New York
Christine Corrado is a city councilmember in Brighton, New York. She’s also the founder of Brighton Safe Streets for All and has served on a variety of city…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
The Lost Art of Crafting Great Urban Places
Professor Jack Duncan is a professor of architecture and preservation at the College of Charleston. His mission is to help students and communities understand…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How a Walk Audit Can Build Community and Momentum
Gioia Calabretta is one of the leaders of Livable Lynchburg, a Local Conversation in Virginia. She is also Strong Towns’ graphic design intern. She and Norm…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Will Gardner Is Helping Build a Stronger South Coast
Will Gardner is the founder of South Coast Places For People, a new nonprofit — and Strong Towns Local Conversation — in Massachusetts. He previously founded…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Adding Third Places To Unlock a Small Town’s Potential
Today, Norm is joined by Jess and Dan Sollaccio from Warrenton, Oregon. Jess is a city commissioner and a small-scale housing developer. Dan is a commissioner…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Fighting for Safe Streets in America’s Most Dangerous City
Memphis, Tennessee, was ranked the #1 most dangerous metro area by Smart Growth America in 2024. That’s not stopping Kelsey Huse, a safe streets advocate and…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
The Young Voice Shaping Salt Lake City's Future
Eva López Chávez is a city council member in Salt Lake City, Utah. Eva has been involved in many layers of local government, including working as a city…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
How Taking a Walk Can Make Your City Stronger
Ashley Thornton is the founder of Waco Walks, an organization devoted to promoting walkability in Waco, Texas. She was inspired to start the organization after…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
This Is Local Leadership Without the Ego
Mark Hoppen is a former city manager and Strong Towns member who’s been quietly strengthening communities in Washington state for decades. In this Bottom Up…
- The Bottom-Up Revolution
Beating the Loneliness Epidemic, One Step at a Time
Adult friendships are difficult. A big part of that is our built environment, which is often designed in a way that stifles social connection instead of…