Jesse Russell is the founder and CEO of Hiatus Homes, a development company in Bend, Oregon, that specializes in small home design and cottage community development. In 2019, he introduced Bend’s first small-scale housing community. He’s also been involved in citywide policy and incentive reform for small-scale development and urban infill.

Russell joins Tiffany on today’s episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss his journey from Los Angeles TV producer to small-scale developer. They talk about how to navigate the challenges of building small homes, including city policies and project financing, and how this kind of development can benefit communities.

Local Recommendations:

Deschutes Bar

Boneyard Brewery

Hayden Homes Amphitheatre

Whitewater Park Surf Wave

Hiatus Homes (website)

Learn how to bring more housing to your city:

“The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform”

Accelerator program, spring session: Get expert guidance in making your community housing ready.

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

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In this Bottom-Up Short, Norm is joined by Christian Schick, the leader of Strong Towns RVA, a Local Conversation in Richmond, Virginia. The group has built a lot of momentum in the past year, and Schick talks about how they did that in a productive and helpful way, particularly while juggling local elections.

Strong Towns RVA (Linktree).

Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).

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

Mike Christensen is the executive director of the Utah Rail Passenger Association, where he works to educate the public and policy makers about the value of investing in passenger rail. He also serves on Salt Lake City’s planning commission, as well as the boards of the Utah chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, the Utah Transit Riders Union and the national Rail Passengers Association.

Christensen joins Tiffany Owens Reed on this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss the benefits of passenger rail, including how it can lead to more productive land use, as well as his work advocating for better public transit outside of metropolitan areas.

Local Recommendations:

Temple Square

Red Iguana

Park Cafe

Mike Christensen (Twitter/X)

Utah Rail Passenger Association (website)

Amtrak Long Distance Study

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

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

Varsha Gopal is an architect from Chennai, India. She is putting Strong Towns ideas into action by starting conversations about what makes places thrive — what makes them special, sustainable and prosperous. On this episode of Bottom-Up Shorts, she joins Norm to discuss two research projects she recently conducted in her city and what they taught her about thriving cities, urban design and community engagement.

Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).

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

Subscribe to The Bottom-Up Revolution on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Podbean or via RSS.

Maricela Sanchez is a city council member and anesthesiologist from Prosser, Washington. She has lived in major cities all over the U.S., including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. In today’s episode, she joins Tiffany to discuss how her travels and profession molded her perspective on what makes a town safe and resilient. They also discuss Sanchez’s role as a councilor, where she focuses on creating safe, walkable neighborhoods and improving active transportation.

Local Recommendations:

Historic Mercer Building

Princess Theatre

Brewminatti Coffee Shop

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

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

Stanis Moody Roberts is a business owner from the Portland, Maine area. For the past year he has been organizing locals to oppose a highway expansion that would have claimed eight acres of his land. He joins Tiffany on today’s episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss this journey and the progress his community has made — including how they convinced their town council to rescind support for the project and delayed construction by several years.

Local Recommendations:

Mr. Tuna

Bubba’s Sulky Lounge

Smiling Hill Farm

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

Welcome to this episode of Bottom Up Shorts! Today, Norm is joined by Andrew and Anna Carley, the leaders of Strong Towns Grand Rapids, a Local Conversation in Michigan. They discuss the progress they’ve made in advocating for policy changes in their city and how they became one of the go-to groups that city officials turn to when they’re considering policy changes.

Strong Towns Grand Rapids (site).

Want to hear more from the Carleys? Hop on the Spring Local Motive Tour, where they’ll share their tactics for regional organizing and letter-writing campaigns.

Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).

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

Emily Hutcheson is a bike advocate in San Antonio, Texas, and a mom of three. She joins Tiffany on this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss her work improving bike infrastructure in her city. They discuss her path to advocacy, some of the initiatives she’s spearheaded, including a bike club and bike bus, and the response from the public and local officials.

Local Recommendations:

Bright Coffee.

Copper Rose Winebar.

SoHill Café.

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

Spencer Coyne is the mayor of Princeton, British Columbia. As a proud Strong Towns member, he works to bring incremental development and community resilience to his city. Coyne joins this Bottom-Up Short to explain how he’s implementing the Strong Towns approach in Princeton, including how to incrementally reform a zoning code and how to do a lot with a small amount of funding.

Connect with Spencer Coyne:

Facebook.

LinkedIn.

Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).

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

In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, host Tiffany Owens Reed is joined by Ellie Riggs and Ryan Carter from Catawba Riverkeeper, a grassroots organization that preserves the waters of the Catawba-Wateree River basin in North Carolina.

They discuss stormwater’s effect on the environment, how it’s connected to parking reform and developers, and a new stormwater management bill that Riggs and Carter are introducing to the North Carolina state legislature in a few weeks. They also discuss Riggs and Carter’s experience with advocacy at the state level.

Local Recommendations:

Legion Brewing.

Birdsong Brewing.

The Diamond Restaurant.

McGill Rose Garden.

Catawba Riverkeeper Website.

2025-2026 Catawba Riverkeeper Legislative Agenda.

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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