The Bottom-Up Revolution

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!