The Bottom-Up Revolution
The Bottom-Up Revolution shares stories from the Strong Towns movement, highlighting how ordinary people are making their communities more economically resilient. Hosted by Tiffany Owens Reed, the show covers practical action steps, building connections with fellow advocates, and navigating challenges along the way. It aims to inspire listeners to apply these ideas in their own places and contribute to creating stronger towns.
Episodes
Can You Run a Town in This Board Game?
The decisions that look simple at the start of a board game can become the problems you spend the rest of it trying to solve. Nick Shrag, a video game programmer and board-game designer, built 'People Live Here' around two players sharing responsibility for the same town. One manages local government finances and development, while the other represents the community and the way people move through
What If a House Took Five Weeks to Build?
A house can take years to plan and build, but Andy Dragt and his wife can finish one in about five weeks. Norm Van Eeden Petersman joins Firefly Tiny Homes founder Andy Dragt, whose work has moved far beyond the tiny-house lifestyle people often see on HGTV or social media. Built for permanent living and movable when circumstances change, these homes can serve as a starter home while giving people
A Highway Fight Built on Learning and Doing
Allendale had already lost much of its population after one freeway cut through the neighborhood, and another highway project threatened to deepen the damage. Planner and architect Kim Mitchell first came into the fight thinking his professional role was to bring answers, but listening to residents changed how he understood the work. In 2012, he helped form a “learning and doing” group that still
Why Are Memphis Streets So Dangerous?
Memphis is the deadliest metro area in the country for people walking, with 5.5 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents. Sheridan Harris nearly lost her life in a hit-and-run while training for a triathlon three years ago, and she is still working toward getting back to the riding she loved before the crash. Since then, she has become part of My Green Line Project, which is collecting firsthand ac
What If Getting Involved Locally Was Actually Fun?
Getting involved in your city doesn’t have to feel like homework. Margaret Allen works at a bank and is part of Strong Des Moines, where meetings feel less like formal civic duty and more like a group of people genuinely excited about figuring things out together. That atmosphere has pulled her deeper into city budgets, council meetings, and conversations she once would have tuned out. It has also
The ADUs Built for Multigenerational Living
A small house in the backyard can solve a housing problem that changes several times over the life of a family. It might first give an aging parent a place nearby, then become a home for an adult child, a rental, or eventually a place for the homeowners themselves. Bradley Jones, founder of Tiny Homes of Tucson, has seen that flexibility become one of the biggest reasons families decide to build A
New Zealand’s Urban Nerds Start at the Pub
Daniel Basubas thought New Zealand would feel very different from the sprawling Southern California communities where he grew up. Instead, he found many of the same development patterns and many of the same arguments over parking, bike lanes, and who streets are for. In Dunedin, he now helps lead the Urbanerds Ōtepoti Dunedin, a Strong Towns Local Conversation that meets at the local pub. The grou
What If Vacant Lots Became Farms?
A lot in Fairfax, Virginia, sat empty for 25 years, long enough that neighbors barely noticed it anymore. Oren Falkowitz, founder of Area 2 Farms, sees places like that as potential farms. He joins urban planner Jeffery Tompkins to talk about bringing food production back into neighborhoods using vacant lots, overlooked buildings, and other spaces conventional development often passes over. Their
The Floating Neighborhoods Coming to North America
Floating homes are already common in parts of Europe, and Jeff Kraatz thinks North American cities could use the same idea to create entirely new neighborhoods on the water. The founder of Floating Towns explains what it actually takes to move beyond a few individual houseboats and build a community of 50 or 60 homes. The homes may float, but the harder work still happens on land: planning, approv
The Missing Ingredient in Great Placemaking
A developer can check every box for parks and shared spaces and still create a place nobody wants to spend time in. Colby Cox has seen stormwater ponds, tiny playgrounds, and generic amenity packages counted as community space even when they do very little to bring different people together or give them a reason to stay. Norm Van Eeden Petersman talks with the Convergence Communities founder about
The Goldilocks Problem Behind City Taxes
When Calgary’s main water feeder line broke for the second time in two years, Nathan Hawryluk decided he needed to get more involved. He already had an unusual view of the city’s finances as a planning commissioner, where questions about new neighborhoods and the infrastructure needed to support them regularly cross his desk. Norm talks with Nathan about the “bad Goldilocks spot” behind those numb
The Co-Living Exchange Pairing Students and Seniors
What if an extra bedroom could make housing more affordable for a student while helping an older adult stay in their home? Alison Donnally founded Joey Co. to pair students looking for housing with older adults who have space to spare and could use help with everyday tasks. Students pay rent, earn money back through agreed-upon work, and gain a different kind of connection to the community around
They Want to Pave Old San Juan for Parking
Near El Morro, one of Puerto Rico’s most recognizable historic sites, a government road project called for cutting down 26 mature trees, widening a road, adding a roundabout, and turning part of a grassy area into parking. Giancarlo Gonzalez, an Old San Juan resident and founding member of a Strong Towns Local Conversation in San Juan, explains how neighbors discovered the plan and began asking wh
This Artist Is Secretly Fixing Potholes With Mosaics
After moving to Chattanooga, Lisa hit three potholes in three years and ended up buying five new tires. She knew people elsewhere had taken pothole repairs into their own hands, and as a mosaic artist, she already had the materials to try her own version. Soon, bright smiley faces started appearing in Chattanooga’s streets. They attracted attention from drivers, neighbors, and eventually the city
The Website Mapping America’s Third Places
When Arec Ligon moved to Brownsburg, Indiana, he was frustrated by how few places nearby seemed worth lingering in. That frustration became Linger, a growing map of user-submitted third places across the country. Instead of ranking businesses, the site asks different questions: Is this place welcoming? Can people stay without spending much? Is the walk there actually comfortable? Arec built Linger
Local Change Doesn’t Require a Big Crowd
Anne Keehnen has spent years building relationships in Nacogdoches, Texas, one conversation and one local effort at a time. She’s run for city council, worked with younger residents on walkability, stayed involved in city meetings, and kept looking for ways to connect people around street safety and neighborhood life. Anne compares that work to building good compost: the conversations and relation
The Sidewalk Joy Changing Portland’s Sidewalks
Most neighborhoods have an invisible boundary where public space ends and private property begins. Rachael Harms Mahlandt started questioning that boundary after discovering tiny installations scattered around Portland: a rubber duck exchange, a toy car swap, miniature galleries, and other invitations to stop and interact. She eventually built her own, then began mapping hundreds of similar projec
The Unexpected Value of a Walking Tour
Somerset, Kentucky, had historical markers scattered around downtown, but Jody McRoberts suspected many people barely noticed them. Through Strong Towns Pulaski, she turned those overlooked signs into a reason for people to slow down and look more closely at the place they lived. The group organized a walking tour, recruited five volunteer guides, and partnered with the local historical society to
These Backyards Don’t Need Suburbia
Density is often pictured as a huge apartment building surrounded by pavement, while a yard is treated as something only suburbia can provide. Dr. Alicia Pederson, founder of Courtyard Urbanist, wants cities to look at the block differently. Courtyard blocks arrange many small multifamily buildings around shared green space, giving families larger homes, nearby neighbors, and somewhere for childre
The New Brutally Honest City Simulator
Most city-building games let players draw roads, place buildings, and watch a convincing skyline appear. Cristian Gonzalez kept noticing what was missing: homelessness, discrimination, parking, disconnected jobs, and the people who bear the cost when the economy turns. By leaving those things out, the games teach players to see cities as collections of buildings rather than places shaped by transp
Who Pays When the Highway Gets Bigger?
A wider highway promises faster trips, new investment, and billions of dollars flowing into Houston. Susan Graham and Ally Smither have spent years asking who receives those benefits and who is asked to move, breathe more pollution, or watch another neighborhood get divided. Recorded at the 2024 Strong Towns National Gathering, this session follows Stop TxDOT I-45 through lost votes, a federal pau
Why City Hall Is So Hard to Navigate
Residents are often told to get involved at City Hall, but first they have to figure out where to go, who has authority, and which committee will actually hear them. Jacob Hyman learned that firsthand when his attempt to advocate for multimodal transportation turned into a frustrating tour of local government. As a civil engineer and leader of Strong Towns Steubenville, he helped build a power map
Can a Front Yard Bring the Village Back?
In most suburban neighborhoods, a corner store or small commercial space can feel years away, even when residents want places to gather and local businesses need somewhere to begin. Rather than wait for a zoning change, Lauren Penn worked with a neighbor to turn their front yards into a tiny market with a baker, a coffee roaster, artists, children selling handmade goods, and people who might not o
Car Ownership Versus the Promise of Convenience
Andrew Price spent nine years living without a car in Hoboken, New Jersey, where most daily trips could be handled on foot or by transit. Once he bought a car, even routine outings came with a new calculation: where he would park, how much it would cost, and whether driving was actually the easier option. An early Strong Towns member, Price examined places, non-places, and the difference between f
Where Did the Village Go?
Modern family life offers mothers an endless supply of services meant to make isolation more manageable, but Lauren Penn began wondering why so much support had to be purchased in the first place. After a violent crash near the crosswalk her children use to get to school pushed her into local activism, she began connecting unsafe streets and missing sidewalks to the exhaustion many mothers experie
Your City Said It Wants Public Input, Now What?
Cities regularly ask residents for feedback, especially when budgets tighten or difficult tradeoffs approach. Norm and Mary Kate Norton look at what changes when people respond as an organized group instead of a collection of individual voices. They trace how Local Conversations grow from first meetings and small projects into groups that can communicate clearly, build relationships with public of
The Vacancy Problem Artists Can Help Solve
Vacant commercial space can drag down a street, but Evan Snow sees something else: a chance to make room for local artists, small businesses, and community life. As co-founder of Zero Empty Spaces, Snow helps transform empty properties into affordable artist studios and cultural hubs. He explains why closed doors do not help property owners, downtowns, or neighborhoods, and why a temporary use can
Can Your City Answer This Sidewalk Question?
When Washington state asked which residents had access to frequent transit, it ran into a surprisingly basic problem: that question is hard to answer without knowing where sidewalks, crossings and curb ramps actually are. Dr. Anat Caspi, director of the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology at the University of Washington, joins the show to talk about Open Sidewalks, a project that helps communi
Could These Parking Spaces Be Homes?
Fayetteville, Arkansas, is growing fast, and housing is getting harder to build. Clark Eckels and Nathan McCloskey of Fayetteville Strong talk about Rethink the Lot, a tactical urbanism pop-up that turned downtown parking spaces into small-scale housing people could walk through. The housing and parking debate can easily get stuck in zoning language, council meetings, and abstract trade-offs, but
A Student-Built Map Exposing New York's Worst Landlords
In New York City, the average rent is $4,700 a month and climbing. Over 500,000 housing violations are on file in the city, but the government database where they live is so outdated that most renters never see them. Farid Sofiyev, a sophomore and co-founder of Civic Reset NYC, built an interactive map of 40,000 of those violations and published the names of the 25 worst landlords in the city. Thi
What Pickleball Revealed in a Rural Town
Van Buren, Maine, had a problem no town wants: it owned more than half of its downtown buildings through tax acquisition. When Luke Dyer became town manager after a long career in law enforcement, he was facing vacant storefronts, deteriorating buildings, flood-damaged land, and a downtown that had lost traffic after the port of entry moved away from Main Street. In this episode, Dyer shares how V
Running for Office Without a Political Background
Horry County, South Carolina has grown so fast that the median household can no longer afford the median home. Dylan Thompson has lived there his whole life, and he's running for county council because he thinks the people making decisions about that growth should actually be accountable to the people living through it. He's a former pastor running under the Forward Party, focused on flooding, hou
The Housing Choices Cities Are Missing
Zoning reform matters, but Eric Kronberg says it is not enough on its own. Cities also need useful building types, realistic development math, better street design, thoughtful tax policy, and a clearer vision for what good neighborhoods can become. He and Tiffany explore why many cities say they want more housing but still make the most useful housing types illegal or impractical. They also talk a
Strong Towns and the Art of Repair
Before Strong Towns became a national movement, its ideas spread through conversations, conferences, friendships and people willing to make room for a difficult message. For Member Week, Norm talks with Founders Circle member Paddy Steinschneider about watching Chuck Marohn’s work gain traction and why the movement has always depended on more than one voice. Paddy reflects on the role members can
The First Strong Towns Member
Nate Hood was the first person to donate to Strong Towns, back when the movement was still a blog, an irregular podcast, and a small circle of people asking better questions about cities. Norm Van Eeden Petersman talks with him about the early days of Strong Towns, the ideas that first made the movement feel different, and what has changed as those ideas have spread across North America. This is a
Building Community On Church Land Again
Eli Smith, director of the Faith-Based Housing Initiative, joins the show to talk about churches turning underused land and aging buildings into housing and everyday community spaces. He explains how his team helps congregations understand their property, imagine specific projects, and gain the language and tools they need to work with developers, lenders, and local officials. Eli and Tiffany dig
The Lane That Kept Bringing Crashes
A car had crashed into the same Madison coffee shop three times. That was enough for Josh Olson and Strong Towns Madison to push for a change on Willie Street — a dense, locally-owned corridor that doubles as a commuter shortcut during rush hour. The intervention they proposed cost a fraction of what the city had budgeted, took two weeks to implement, and ran as a two-month trial. Josh breaks down
Small‑Town Housing, Big Feelings
In Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, housing debates are tied to favorite trees, familiar views, flood scars, and whether younger residents can afford to stay. Planning commissioner and neighborhood organizer Taylor Lightman talks about what it’s like to rewrite zoning in the same place you grew up. He explains how a housing committee rallied around ADUs, why they rolled back strict parking and owner‑occup
Students Who Got a Sidewalk Built in 14 Days
Evan Clark and Natalie Eger are college students studying sociology in Lexington, Virginia, and they came back from the 2025 National Gathering in Providence, RI fired up to do something. In the past year they've built a thriving local conversation group, turned a city council member into a regular at their monthly meetings, and had a broken sidewalk fixed fourteen days after they flagged it. They
Listening Your Way Into Local Change
Mary Kate Norton, Strong Towns’ Mobilization Coordinator and Trainer, came to advocacy through other people’s stories: campus workers juggling multiple jobs, family members stuck without safe transportation options, and neighbors trying to find housing they could afford. Those experiences shaped how she sees local change now: as something rooted in attention, trust, and the willingness to let a pl
Spokane, Washington Is Betting on Buses, Benches, and Fourplexes
Before the car took over, Spokane, Washington ran an extensive streetcar network that shaped its neighborhoods. Sarah Rose and Erik Lowe of Spokane Reimagined are working to recover that spirit through a bus system that has already surpassed pre-pandemic ridership, a zoning reform that opened the city to missing middle housing, and hand-built benches placed in all 29 neighborhoods, each painted by
When a Tornado Hit Main Street
On March 14, 2025, an EF3 tornado hit Cave City, Arkansas, directly, something the town of about 2,000 people had never experienced in more than a century. Mayor Jonas Anderson describes the shock of that night and the neighborly response that followed, but the story does not begin or end with disaster. Cave City had already been investing in its own center, moving City Hall to Main Street and sup
The Missing Middle Has a Missing Industry
Alkarim Devani has built over 1,000 homes in Calgary — fourplexes, row houses, a 212-unit heritage restoration — and noticed something strange: people kept asking about the small projects. That observation turned into a doctorate, a national education program, and a growing movement to make middle housing a viable career path for a whole new generation of city builders. In this episode, he talks a
Rerun: Breaking Down Barriers to Local Food
It’s farmers market season, so we’re revisiting this conversation with Shelby Wild, whose work in Lompoc shows how a weekly neighborhood market can reshape a community’s food system. This rerun highlights the deep local relationships, creative partnerships, and small-scale innovations that make markets like Route One a backbone of local resilience and access to good food.
Shelby Wild is a mom, lif
Walk Your Neighborhood Like Jane Jacobs
In Portland’s Hollywood district, a neighbor-led walk inspired by Jane Jacobs helps people see a familiar street in a new way. Strong Towns PDX organizer Natalie Legras shares how she pulled together a low-key neighborhood walk that feels more like hanging out than hosting an event. Starting with a few map pins and a small group of neighbors, the walk opens up conversations about old houses turned
Can Safer Streets Start With a Video Game?
A traffic jam in a video game changed how Bryan Kelly saw his city. He traces the path from playing City Skylines and watching Not Just Bikes to noticing stroads, long waits at traffic lights, and people biking on sidewalks along Sheboygan’s Eighth Street. That shift pulled him into a Strong Towns book club in a local coffee shop, Critical Mass rides with neighbors, and quiet committee rooms where
Lancaster’s Locals, Newcomers, and Streets Working Together
Strong Towns organizer Nick Dennis shares how, once he hosted a simple meetup, he discovered a whole network of already active people in Lancaster, Pennsylvania who just needed a way to connect their efforts. He and Norm talk about a small church turned neighborhood hub that’s now a coffee shop, bar, and venue where they even hosted a talk on Escape the Housing Trap. They also dig into Celebrate L
Why Public Spaces Fail After the Ribbon Cutting
Well-designed public spaces often look promising at opening, then slowly lose energy and use. Max Musicant explains how that decline comes down to what happens after construction—who maintains the space, how it’s programmed, and whether anyone is responsible for making it work day to day. From simple fixes like better seating and things to do, this conversation gets into why so many spaces never b
Ohio’s Traffic Granny Takes On Dangerous Neighborhood Streets
Barbara Didrichsen, known locally as “Traffic Granny,” describes how everyday walks filled with close calls in her Pleasant Ridge neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio pushed her to start documenting crashes and traffic problems on her streets. She and Norm talk through simple first steps, like signs and flags, and how they used those results to argue for stronger engineering fixes. Their conversation
Rethinking New Neighborhoods Between Big Plans And Incremental Change
Using Woodbury in Moscow, Idaho as a case study, this conversation digs into how one master-planned neighborhood pursues walkability, mixed use, and everyday community life on the edge of a small town. Builder Levi Wintz unpacks the tradeoffs around density, ADUs, financing, and city regulations, and how the push for a coherent plan meets the Strong Towns ethos of incremental change.
ADDITIONAL SH
Becoming the Sidewalk Lady in Athens Ohio
In Athens, Ohio, stroller struggles on broken sidewalks and a sea of parking lots pushed Stevie Hunter to become the city’s “sidewalk lady.” She joins Norm to talk about mapping every parking lot in town, auditing rebuilt streets with a homegrown SPACE metric, and pushing for curb ramps, benches, and daylighted intersections. Their conversation shows how one resident’s daily walks turned into real
Defying Deficit Narratives with Youth Pilot Projects
In this episode, Uthish Ganesh tells the story of returning to teach in the neighborhood where he grew up and refusing to accept his school’s bad reputation. From a boys’ group with a perfect graduation rate to a student-run food program serving hundreds of families, he shows what happens when you stop believing deficit narratives and raise the bar instead.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Uthish Ganesh (In
Tree Canopies, Safe Speeds, and a Council Seat
Emma Durand-Wood never planned on public office. But what began as challenging a pawn shop, planting trees, and pushing for safer speeds in her Winnipeg neighborhood grew into coalitions and, eventually, a successful run for local office. She talks about stepping into the role, facing the information fire hose, and keeping family and community at the center.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommenda
Why Cities Need Community Led Crash Analysis Studios
Most crash analysis studios didn’t start inside City Hall—they were sparked by local members, neighbors, and conversation leaders who refused to accept dangerous streets as normal. Instead of waiting on the next grant cycle, Strong Towns is helping cities take small, fast steps at their most dangerous intersections through community-led crash analysis studios. Norm and Edward share how this work t
Restarting a Strong Towns Local Conversation
In this episode, Josh Olson reflects on how he and others helped bring a Strong Towns local conversation group back to life in Madison, and kept it going with simple habits like reserving the same library room each month. It explores the projects that grew out of that effort, including safer street trials, Parking Day, and support for a major housing reform package. As the group took on these proj
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 cities by growing from within after major factory closures. They trace the community’s path from brownfields and aging corridors to adaptive reuse, new housing, and lively main streets filled with independent shops, coffee houses, and breweries.
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 neighborhoods in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In this conversation, they share how modest first steps—showing up to meetings, testing a parklet, repurposing old materials—grow into city‑wide change. Their story traces the path from tentative beginnings to a c
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 fiscal cliff. They recount the campaign to save transit funding, including a sketch-driven show that turned insider debates about the Road Fund into something regular Chicagoans could act on. The episode follows their blend of detailed policy wo
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, consultant‑driven process. Josh Olson explains how neighbors gathered speed data, won a two‑month trial, and helped make the change permanent. Along the way, he shares how that work fed into broader safety goals, housing reforms, and a shift from “w
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 that turned that street into block parties, front-yard hangouts, and kids biking freely between homes. The conversation traces that change on his block and highlights practical ways to start building community where you live, with the people a
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 Vibrant Lafayette in doing the legwork—digging into projects like the School Street path, meeting with staff, and then giving busy families clear, targeted ways to show up when it matters most.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Vibrant Lafayette (Site)
Vibra
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 evolved into a nonprofit, a workforce program for unhoused neighbors, and a practical playbook for taking action in your town.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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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 organizing against the MidStates Corridor, from local resistance in Dubois County to growing pressure at the State House. Along the way, Jasper’s story shows how a community can push back when a mega‑project threatens its future and quality of l
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 development, and his own projects on creating places people actually enjoy using every day.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
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Taco Nation
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The Building Culture Podcast (site)
Building Cultur
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 budget. She shares what it took, from permits and vendors to a rainy launch day, and how a small, homegrown experiment can help knit a neighborhood together.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Pop-Up Market Makers (Instagram)
Pop-Up Market Makers (Site)
St
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 they estimated the city’s road and pipe costs, modeled new tax revenue from redeveloping a downtown highway, and started pushing for a vacancy fee. Their approach offers a clear template for linking land use to your city’s bottom line.
ADDITIO
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 this episode, his work on a modest South Fayetteville infill project, close collaboration with city staff, and a growing circle of locals working to make the city more resilient show what Strong Towns looks like through one resident’s life.
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 costs. She shares what that decision has opened up for her family—more freedom, more flexibility, and a life that better fits their values—and why similar options could matter for many others. When her small home in a central Boise neighborh
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 real crosswalks and how one quirky tool can spark bigger conversations about community, walking, and safer streets.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Connect with Abigail Hoiland
Stopumbrella.com
LinkedIn
Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
Do y
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 on smaller lots. Today, he shares how he's building a broad coalition — from bankers to housing advocates — to make incremental, family-oriented housing reform possible.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Connect with Legalize Starter Homes
Site
Face
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 a statewide pedestrian and bicycle safety nonprofit. Regan explains how he’s making progress despite the challenges — by meeting people where they are, showing what’s possible, and working both locally and at the state level.
ADDITIONAL SHO
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 plans force parents out of cities — and how to help young families stay in the neighborhoods they love.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Rival Bros Coffee (site)
The American Housing Corporation (site)
Tiffany Owens Reed (Instag
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, build relationships, and turn concern into real momentum.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Strong Towns Huntsville (site)
Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here
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, explains how crowdfunding builds financial resilience while strengthening community bonds and local ownership.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Common Ground Coffee & Market
Idaho Capital Asian Market
Oldspeak Book Beer Bar
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, he shares hard-earned lessons about how change really happens — and why patience and small experiments matter more than headlines.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Hear more from Josh in his first episode on Bottom-Up Shorts.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman
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 "America's worst mom," makes the case for why kids need more independence and shares tactics for how parents can give it to them in the modern city or suburb.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Lety’s Bakery
Let Grow (site)
Fr
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 uses urbanist comedy, neighborhood tours, and social events to keep volunteers energized and engaged while winning real policy changes.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Want in on the action? Find a Local Conversation near you!
Alex Montero (Linktree)
S
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 Carolina, she started asking bigger questions. In this episode, she explains how noticing friction in everyday work led to her involvement in zoning reform, transit leadership, and launching a pro-housing movement.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
CIT
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, public space, and how small, people-powered projects grow into lasting civic impact.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Criscuolo Park
Ozzy’s Pizza
The Crooked Goat
Taqueria Oyameles
Caroline Tanbee Smith (site)
Tiffany Owens Ree
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 building backyard cottages in Flagstaff, Arizona. He shares how better guidance and streamlined approvals can support local housing and reduce the burden on city staff.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Learn how to make housing easier to build in your commu
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