The Bottom-Up Revolution

Dr. Jonathan Gingrich is a professor of engineering at Dordt College in Iowa. A trained chemical and environmental engineer, he started teaching transportation engineering due to staffing shortages. Unsatisfied with the standard materials required for the class, he incorporated the book "Confessions of a Recovering Engineer" by Chuck Marohn into his curriculum and had his class conduct a Crash Analysis Studio.

In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Dr. Gingrich shares how his unusual background helped him see past engineering codes and look for a better way to design streets. He explains the logistics of incorporating crash analysis and safe street design into the classroom, as well as the benefits it had for his students.

Local Recommendations:

Dordt College

The Fruited Plain

Casey’s Bakery

Learn more:

Crash Analysis Studio

"Confessions of a Recovering Engineer" by Chuck Marohn

“How One Professor is Inspiring the Next Generation of Transportation Engineers”

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

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Josh Stewart is an advocate from Littleton, Colorado. A year ago, his 12-year-old son was struck and killed by a car while biking to school. Since then, Josh has been relentlessly pushing for safer streets in his community. He joins Norm in this Bottom-Up Short to share his story and what he’s learned over the last year of advocacy work.

“The Cost of an Extra Foot” (article)

“Large Trucks Need Better Street Design” (article)

Learn more about the Crash Analysis Studio model for responding to and preventing car crashes.

Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)

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

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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)

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

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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!

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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!