The Bottom-Up Revolution

Megan Ramey has advocated for kid-friendly transportation for over a decade, culminating in her role as the Safe Routes to School Manager for Hood River County, Oregon.

Megan and Tiffany discuss the importance of walkability and bikeability for children, and Megan shares lessons she's learned from advocating in cities as big as Boston and towns as small as Hood River.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Local Recommendations:
  
  • Historic Columbia River Highway
  • Ten Speed Coffee Shop
  • Love and Hominy
• Walk And Roll Hood River County Schools (site)
• Bikeabout (site)
• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Your downtown isn't a money pit — it's a money pot. When Medicine Hat, Alberta, discovered the real financial value of traditional urban form, it sparked something bigger: a grassroots movement that's now changing who runs city hall. Superintendent of Planning Shawn Champagne joins Norm to discuss small bets, fiscal resilience, and why bottom-up change actually works.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Shawn Champagne: shacha@medicinehat.ca
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)

In her day job, Victoria Via is an architect who designs affordable housing. In her off hours, she's one of the leaders of a powerhouse Local Conversation in Portland, Oregon. Victoria joins Tiffany to explain what affordable housing has in common with luxury projects and how Strong Towns PDX is working with neighborhood groups and city officials to transform Portland for the better.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Local Recommendations:‍
  
  • Roste Chocolate House‍
  • Kate's Ice Cream
  • ‍Orange & Blossom‍
  • Bike Summer (Pedalpalooza)‍
• ‍Strong Towns PDX‍ (site)‍
• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

What happens when a data analyst starts studying their hometown's finances? For Karl Urich, it meant seeing Albany, New York, in a whole new light. Karl shares how he makes intimidating financial statements accessible to everyone, why unbiased storytelling matters more than gotcha journalism, and practical tips for aspiring data storytellers.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Albany Data Stories (site)
• Hudson Finance Decoder (site)
• Karl Urich (LinkedIn)
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)

Why do some places make us want to stay forever while others repel us? In honor of Member Week, we're bringing back a great episode with architect Will McCollum. He explores the timeless principles of urbanism, why we need to democratize that knowledge again, and how understanding cities helps us understand what it means to be human.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Local Recommendations:

  • Piedmont Park

  • Bold Monk Brewing

  • The Works Food Hall

• Citymakers Collective (Website)

• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

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

Strong Towns members are doing remarkable things in their communities, but none of it requires magic abilities. Norm shares what he's learned from 50 interviews — and explains how you can get involved.

Additional Show Notes

• It's Member Week at Strong Towns! Join the movement by making a donation of any amount.

Many cities will greenlight a billion-dollar highway but struggle to paint a crosswalk. Liza Burkin has spent 12 years changing that through advocacy, private consulting, and federal policymaking. The founder of Providence Streets Coalition, she joins Tiffany to share hard-won lessons on political navigation and practical tools anyone can use to start transforming their streets.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Local recommendations:‍
  
  • Providence Pedestrian Bridge‍
  • Dave’s Coffee‍
  • The Village‍
  • Johnny Chimi’s‍
  • Woonasquatucket River Greenway‍
  • Streetmix‍
• ‍Providence Streets Coalition (site)‍
• Neighborways (site)‍
• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Hey listener! You hear from us all the time, but today we want to hear from you. We want your feedback on this podcast and any other Strong Towns podcast you like to listen to. Please fill out this quick survey to share your thoughts: strongtowns.org/survey

Dr. Shakeel Dalal builds spaceships for a living, and he never planned to run for mayor of Longmont, Colorado. He just kept doing the next small thing that made sense. That led him from writing about city council meetings to moderating congressional debates, founding housing organizations, and running for office. Today, Shakeel joins Norm to discuss his journey, the challenges facing his community, and his advice for advocates.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Shakeel Dalal (site)
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)

Hey listener! You hear from us all the time, but today we want to hear from you. We want your feedback on this podcast and any other Strong Towns podcast you like to listen to. Please fill out this quick survey to share your thoughts: strongtowns.org/survey

What if you could change a dangerous street today instead of waiting 10 years? Isaac Gonzalez founded the advocacy group Slow Down Sacramento to prove that you can. Two years later, the group has helped transform Sacramento from a city that resists innovation to one that's embracing tactical urbanism.

Today, Isaac explains how he kickstarted this change and how you can do the same.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Stop waiting. Start acting. Learn how to analyze crashes and quickly transform streets today.
• Connect with Isaac:
  
  • Slow Down Sacramento (site)
  • Email: slowdownsacramento@gmail.com
  • Strong SacTown (site)
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

McKenzie Ortiz is the founder of Pedestrian Pride, a digital storytelling project that uplifts the realities of life for working-class people who can't drive. She also serves on the Planning and Zoning Commission in Columbia, Missouri. Today, McKenzie joins Tiffany to discuss what it's really like to be a nondriver in America and how storytelling can transform advocacy.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Local Recommendations:
  
  • ‍Uprise Bakery‍
  • Hitt Records‍
  • Ragtag Cinema
• Learn more about Pedestrian Pride
  
  • Website‍
  • Instagram

• McKenzie Ortiz (site)
• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!