The Bottom-Up Revolution

Tiffany Elder is a licensed general contractor, realtor and real estate investor/developer in Durham, North Carolina. She is the owner of Paradigm Construction (a design-build construction firm) and Paradigm Properties (a real estate brokerage firm). She also facilitates real estate ownership and investing seminars for residents.

Elder joins this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss her career path, how her various roles intersect, and the challenges and opportunities she’s faced in Durham.

To hear more from Elder, check out her Local-Motive session “Investing in Housing Development that Strengthens Neighborhoods Without Pushing People Out.” You can join live today at noon CDT or access the recording at any time in the Strong Towns Academy.

Local recommendations:

Bar Virgil - Downtown.

Nzinga’s café.

Walk downtown.

Duke Gardens.

Tiffany Elder’s TEDx Talk.

Tiffany Elder (website).

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

Jennifer Krouse is a real estate strategist and the CEO of Liberty House Plans, an architectural publishing house that provides architectural plans for neighborhood-friendly buildings. Previously, she served as a business advisor to real estate developers and a consultant in the field of municipal productivity. She is a member of the National Town Builders Association and holds a BA from Williams College and an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Local recommendations:

Peter Pan Donuts.

Liberty House Plans.

Columns Jennifer has written for Strong Towns.

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

Paloma Delgadillo is a council member in the city of Broomfield, Colorado. Originally from Texas, Paloma holds a B.A. in economics and a minor in statistics from the University of Chicago undergraduate program. She also earned a master’s degree in analytics from the University of Chicago Graham School.

In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Delgadillo joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss her efforts to make her city more resilient, including through parking reform.

To hear more from Delgadillo, sign up for next week’s Local-Motive session: “The Parking Revolution is Here. Is Your Community Ready To Sign On?”

Local recommendations:

Arista Deli.

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

Alec Davis is a native of Des Moines, Iowa, with a background in engineering and consulting. In 2018 he left the corporate world to venture out as an entrepreneur, starting a restaurant alongside his brother back home in Des Moines. In 2023, after learning more about zoning and advocacy, he started Momentum Des Moines, an urban advocacy organization.

On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Davis joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to talk about Momentum Des Moines’ efforts to build a better city by working with local government to end car dependency and make the city more accessible for everyone.

Local recommendations:

Dough Co. Pizza.

Des Moines Biergarten.

Lua Brewing.

Big Grove Brewing.

Bartenders Handshake.

Lucky Lotus.

Lachelle's.

Cheese Bar.

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

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

Jennifer Krouse is a real estate strategist and the CEO of Liberty House Plans, an architectural publishing house that provides architectural plans for neighborhood-friendly buildings. Previously, she served as a business advisor to real estate developers and a consultant in the field of municipal productivity. She is a member of the National Town Builders Association and holds a BA from Williams College and an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Liberty House Plans (site).

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

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.

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!

Erik Lowe is the founder of Reimagine Spokane, a grassroots group of citizens who are calling for safer streets and better transit in Spokane, Washington. He's also the designer of the “Spokane Reimagined” plan, a $1 billion proposal to improve safety and connectivity in Spokane over 20 years. On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, he joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to talk about transit advocacy and the importance of walkability and safe streets.

Local recommendations:

Riverfront park, food truck, falls, gondola.

Atticus Coffee.

Domini’s Sandwiches.

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

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.

On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Zeren joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to talk about his path to becoming an incremental developer with a midsize real estate firm, the stark divide between most modern developers and non-developers, and his approach to both incremental finance and philosophy.

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!

Erin Joyce is the mayor of Braintree, Massachusetts. She’s also a professional civil engineer, former chair of her local planning board, former PTO president, youth soccer coach, and mom to three boys.

She’s joining host Tiffany Owens Reed today on The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss what it’s like to build strong towns as an elected official, the challenges and opportunities she’s faced, and the importance of community engagement in local government.

• Erin Joyce (site).

Local recommendations:

Widowmaker Brewery in the Blue Hills.

Foley's Ice Cream Shop.

Thayer Birth Place, Historical Society.

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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

Ilana Preuss is the founder and CEO of Recast City, a program that helps cities build strong downtowns by empowering small-scale manufacturers. She is also the author of “Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing.” Previously, she was the vice president and chief of staff at Smart Growth America and led the technical assistance program at the EPA Smart Growth Program. She is a TEDx speaker on, “The Economic Power of Great Places,” and a featured keynote speaker.

In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Preuss joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss the importance of small-scale manufacturing and her experiences as a city builder.

• Local recommendations:

Bespoke Not Broke Consignment

The People’s Book

The Olive Lounge

Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram).

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