The Bottom-Up Revolution

By Strong TownsSociety & Culture

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Followers
Typical duration
42 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

The Bottom-Up Revolution episodes

May 21, 2025Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Build a Network of Advocates
Hazen Elwood is a student, a member of Strong Towns Calgary (in Alberta, Canada), and a community manager with the organization For the City. Today, Norm and Hazen discuss ways to build an advocacy network and the power of raising local awareness through storytelling.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Unsprawling (site)
Calgary made it to the Elite Eight in this year’s Strongest Town Contest. There are many great lessons that cities of all sizes can learn from their hard work. Click here to read more about their progress.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).
Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
13 min
May 15, 2025Justine Underhill: Using Media To Build a Better City
Justine Underhill is an elected city council member in Falls Church, Virginia, and an award-winning video journalist and independent filmmaker. She’s worked for international and domestic news organizations, created an award-winning docuseries, and started an educational YouTube channel.
Justine joins Tiffany to discuss how media can be used to connect with people and drive change.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Want to hear more from Justine? Get your National Gathering tickets today!
Learn more about Justine’s work:
YouTube Channel
Falls Church Forward
Local Recommendations:
Panjshir Restaurant
Saturday morning farmer's market
Cherry Hill Park
Northside Social
Café Kindred
Godfreys
Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
1 hr 13 min
May 13, 2025Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Make a More Walkable City
How do you turn three people with snow shovels into an initiative that gets covered on the news, triggers a city-funded pilot program, and inspires people to stay in the city long-term? That’s what Andrew Neidhardt and Dustin Moore of Walkable Albany, a Local Conversation in New York, are here to explain.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Walkable Albany (site).
Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).
Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
16 min
May 08, 2025Rosaline Hill: Proving the Power of Infill Housing Development
Rosaline Hill is a registered professional planner and awards-winning architect from Ottawa, Canada. She’s consulted on zoning for the city of Ottawa and is the founder and principle architect of BuildingIn, a planning program that helps municipalities reach their housing goals through infill development.
Today, Rosaline joins Tiffany to discuss the complexities of housing reform. She explains how she created a 3D modeling program that helps municipalities visualize and argue persuasively for development.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Equator Coffee
Capital Pathway Bike Trail
Learn more about Rosaline’s work:
BuildingIn (site)
Walkable Ottawa (site)
Ottawa Cohousing (site)
Learn about the six simple code reforms local officials can implement today to welcome new housing.
Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
50 min
May 06, 2025Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Build a Stronger Richmond Hill
In this episode of Bottom Up Shorts, Norm is joined by Saeed Vahid, a Local Conversation leader from Richmond Hill, Ontario. They talk about how he started the Local Conversation, how the group is collaborating with city officials, and how the expansion of the Greater Toronto Area has affected Richmond Hill.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Strong Richmond Hill (site).
Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).
Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
15 min
May 02, 2025Diane Alisa: How To Restore the American Village
Diane Alisa is an author and founder of the nonprofit End Car Dependency. Her nonprofit helps support families by making it easier to get around safely without a car, build strong support networks, and empower children to be part of their communities.
Diane joins this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss the impact of car-dependent design on families and the importance of building integrated communities (or "villages").
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Support the work of advocates like Diane by becoming a Strong Towns member today!
Local Recommendations:
Downtown Provo
“Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village” by Diane Alisa
End Car Dependency (website)
Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
1 hr 1 min
April 29, 2025Bottom-Up Shorts: How Normal People Can Make a Big Difference
Daniel Bloemker is a Strong Towns member and Local Conversation leader from Bellingham, Washington. He’s been instrumental in advancing local efforts on parking reform, housing, and community spaces. He joins Norm in this Bottom-Up Short to discuss these efforts and the progress the city has made.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Want to support advocates like Daniel? Become a Strong Towns member today.
Bellingham won the “Most Progress in Building Better Budgets” award in the Strongest Town Contest. There are many great lessons that cities of all sizes can learn from their hard work.
14 min
April 24, 2025Elizabeth Turman-Bryant: The Bottom Up Path to Local Leadership
Elizabeth Turman-Bryant is a councilmember in Burlington, Washington. She's passionate about community building, revitalizing historical areas, and making Burlington more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.
Turman-Bryant joins Tiffany to discuss her journey from nonprofit work to local government. She explains some of the projects she’s working on and the importance of striking a balance between the responsiveness of bottom-up activism and the influence of local government involvement.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Local Recommendations:
Tacos Tecalitlan
Train Wreck Bar
Railroads Pizza and Bar
Taste of Thai by Wipa
Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
44 min
April 22, 2025Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Build Bikeable Streets
Denyse Trepanier is the president of Bike Walk Alameda, a nonprofit organization in the island city of Alameda, California. She joins Norm to discuss the city's efforts to improve biking infrastructure, including the creation of a network of low-stress bikeways and neighborhood greenways.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Bike Walk Alameda (site)
Alameda made it to the Sweet 16 in this year’s Strongest Town Contest, from a list of almost 40 nominees. There are many great lessons that cities of all sizes can learn from their hard work. Click here to read more about their progress.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
15 min
April 15, 2025Doing the Math as a City Council Member
Steven Zittergruen is a city councilor and Strong Towns member from Decorah, Iowa. In this Bottom-Up Short, he joins Norm to discuss the ways he’s making his community stronger. His efforts include revamping Decorah’s budgeting process, helping launch Decorah’s Local Conversation group, and writing about local governance.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
Dear Decorah (Substack)
Learn how to do the math in your own community.
Decorah made it to the Elite Eight in this year’s Strongest Town Contest. There are many great lessons that cities of all sizes can learn from their hard work. Click here to read more about their progress.
Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
19 min