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Strong Towns

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 episode features a Strong Towns advocate who is making positive change in their community.

The Bottom-Up Revolution

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 Reed • (Instagram)

 • Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest?
 Let us know here!

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How Love of Place Grows Into Community Leadership

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 community with the 
Strong Towns Housing Toolkits • .

 • Connect with Connor: 

LinkedIn
Instagram
 • 

 • ‍
Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

 • Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? 
Let us know here.

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How a One-Stop Website Could Help Beat the Housing Crisis

In this special episode, Norm introduces Mary Kate Norton, Strong Towns' new Mobilization Coordinator and Trainer. Mary Kate shares about her background in grassroots organizing, leadership development, and coalition building. She also offers some tips for people hoping to make change in their communities.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Find a Local Conversation near you.
Mary Kate Norton • (LinkedIn)

 • ‍
Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

 • Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? 
Let us know here.

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Small Wins, Big Transformations: Introducing Mary Kate Norton

When a tragic car crash forced street safety changes in Chattanooga, Tennessee, local businesses panicked about losing customers. But they soon discovered that foot traffic beats car traffic every time.

Emily Thompson, entrepreneur, author, and marketing chair of the North Shore Merchant Collective, explains how she helped push for increasing walkability and reclaiming space for people — and how those efforts made surrounding businesses more successful.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • Local Recommendations: 

Frazier Five and Dime
I Go Tokyo
Verre Noir
Basecamp
 • 

Almanac Supply Co • (site)

Tiffany Owens Reed • (Instagram)

 • Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest?
 Let us know here!

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How To Get Local Businesses On Board With Street Safety

What happens when a planner stops following broken rules and starts rewriting them instead?

Brad Callender, director of planning and zoning for Monroe, Georgia, legalized the housing people actually need. Duplexes and backyard cottages are now popping up across town. He joins Norm today to explain how he did it as a department of one.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Brad Callender • (LinkedIn)

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

 • Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest?
 Let us know here!

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How a Georgia City Made Missing Middle Housing Legal

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 County, Oregon.

Megan and Tiffany discuss the importance of walkability and bikeability for children, and Megan shares lessons she's learned from advocating in cities as big as Boston and towns as small as Hood River.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • Local Recommendations: 

Historic Columbia River Highway
Ten Speed Coffee Shop
Love and Hominy
 • 

Walk And Roll Hood River County Schools • (site)

Bikeabout • (site)

Tiffany Owens Reed • (Instagram)

 • Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest?
 Let us know here!

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How Bike Buses and Walkable Streets Help Kids Thrive

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 something bigger: a grassroots movement that's now changing who runs city hall. Superintendent of Planning Shawn Champagne joins Norm to discuss small bets, fiscal resilience, and why bottom-up change actually works.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • Shawn Champagne: shacha@medicinehat.ca

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

The Money Angle: How To Win Over Skeptics

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 Portland, Oregon. Victoria joins Tiffany to explain what affordable housing has in common with luxury projects and how Strong Towns PDX is working with neighborhood groups and city officials to transform Portland for the better.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • Local Recommendations:
‍ • 

Roste Chocolate House‍
Kate's Ice Cream
‍Orange & Blossom‍
Bike Summer (Pedalpalooza)‍
 • 

Architects FORA • (site)

 • ‍
Strong Towns PDX‍ • (site)
‍
Tiffany Owens Reed • (Instagram)

 • Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest?
 Let us know here!

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How To Activate Volunteers and Build Trust at the Neighborhood Level

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 how he makes intimidating financial statements accessible to everyone, why unbiased storytelling matters more than gotcha journalism, and practical tips for aspiring data storytellers.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

Albany Data Stories • (site)

Hudson Finance Decoder • (site)

Karl Urich • (LinkedIn)

Norm Van Eeden Petersman • (LinkedIn)

 

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How To Turn Public Data Into Stories That Drive Change

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 McCollum. He explores the timeless principles of urbanism, why we need to democratize that knowledge again, and how understanding cities helps us understand what it means to be human.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • It's Member Week at Strong Towns! 
Join the movement today.

 • 

Local Recommendations:
 • 

 • 

Piedmont Park
 • 

 • 

Bold Monk Brewing
 • 

 • 

The Works Food Hall
 • 

 • 

 • 

Citymakers Collective (Website)
 • 

 • 

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
 • 

 • 

Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
 •

How To Design Urban Places That People Love

Seth Zeren is a a neighborhood developer and founding member of Strong Towns, as well as a self-proclaimed recovering city planner and a writer at the Build the Next Right Thing Substack. A San Francisco native, Zeren now lives with his family in Providence, Rhode Island, where he works as an incremental developer.

Zeren returns in this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to talk with host Tiffany Owens Reed about the political side of incremental development and how to deal with issues like balancing needed development with the increased property taxes that development usually brings.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

 • 

Build the Next Right Thing (Substack).
 • 

 • 

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).
 • 

 • 

Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
 •

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Fighting the Housing Crisis as an Incremental Developer Part 2

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