Claim OwnershipThe Bottom-Up Revolution
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Description
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.
323 Episodes
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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. Along the way, they highlight zoning shifts, creative financing tools, arts events, transportation academies, and on‑the‑ground outreach that together have changed the city’s trajectory.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Vote for West Allis in the Strongest Town Contest!
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. Thank you!
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 community that’s learning, iterating, and steadily becoming stronger.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Vote for Sheboygan in the Strongest Town Contest!
Sheboygan Active Transportation (Instagram)
Sheboygan Active Transportation (Facebook)
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. Thank you!
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 work, neighborhood organizing, and improv-rooted comedy.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Vote for Chicago in the Strongest Town Contest!
Strong Towns Chicago (Site)
Strong Towns Chicago (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. Thank you!
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 “why don’t we” to “how can we.”
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Vote for Madison in the Strongest Town Contest!
Strong Towns Madison (Site)
Strong Towns Madison(Instagram)
Madison Property Tax Value Per Acre (Site)
Counting Cranes (Substack)
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. Thank you!
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 already around you.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Mesa Mercado
Shangri-La
Hey Neighbor Hub (site)
Hey Neighbor Hub (Instagram)
Hey Neighbor Hub (YouTube)
Hey Neighbor Hub (TikTok)
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. Thank you!
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)
Vibrant Lafayette (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. Thank you!
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
Local Recommendations:
A Place At The Table
Tapyard Raleigh
Lake Johson
North Carolina Museum of Art
The Great Raleigh Cleanup (site)
The Great Raleigh Cleanup (Instagram)
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. Thank you!
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 life.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Don't make Southern Indiana's 'sacrifice zone' worse with Mid-State Corridor (Article)
Jasper, Indiana winner of the Strongest Town Contest in 2022 (Site)
Mark Nowotarski (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. Thank you!
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:
Wheeler District
Clarity Coffee
Taco Nation
Akai Sushi
The Building Culture Podcast (site)
Building Culture (site)
Townsend Project (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. Thank you!
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)
Stronger Denton
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. Thank you!
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.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Roste Chocolate House
PDX Coffee Club
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. Thank you!
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.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Aaron Caldwell (LinkedIn)
Local Recommendations:
Hammontree's
Feed and Folly
Maxine's Tap Room
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. Thank you!
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 neighborhood drew attention at city hall, Macy stayed in the conversation, helping the city pilot and eventually change its rules to make room for legal tiny houses.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Book People
Hello Everything
Mikey’s Gyros
Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute
One World Cafe
Hodgins Drug and Hobby
Minimotives.com
Tiny House Petition
Tiny House Tour
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. Thank you!
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 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. Thank you!
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
Facebook
Instagram
Read more:
"Why Are Developers Only Building Luxury Housing?" by Daniel Herriges
"Our Self-Imposed Scarcity of Nice Places" by Daniel Herriges
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. Thank you!
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 SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Indah Coffee
Farmer’s Market XChange
Cola Town Bikes
Palmetto Bike Walk
People for Bikes Feature
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. Thank you!
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
Local Recommendations:
Rival Bros Coffee (site)
The American Housing Corporation (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. Thank you!
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.
This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!
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
Boise Farmer's Market
Crowdfund Better (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. Thank you!
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 (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. Thank you!
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