The Bottom-Up Revolution

Vignesh Swaminathan is an engineer, transportation planner, and content creator. Formerly the the CEO of a civil engineering firm, he now works as a project engineer and has over 1.7 million followers on TikTok, where he discusses urban infrastructure and transportation planning.

Tiffany and Vignesh discuss how transportation planning affects other aspects of cities such as housing. Vignesh explains how he works with quick-build projects, intersection design, and social media to make cities stronger.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• See more from Vignesh:

  • At the National Gathering!

  • On TikTok

  • On Instagram

• Local Recommendations:

  • Downtown San Jose

  • Bay Trail

  • San Pedro Square

  • CalTrain

• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

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

Danny Wind is a Local Conversation leader and Regional Transportation Commission member from Lake County, California. In this Bottom-Up Short, Danny discusses their Open Street Map Project, which gives people a space to share photos and descriptions of the everyday challenges they face. Danny explains how this method of humbly observing where people struggle is a powerful force for change and how it intersects with their Regional Transportation Commission work.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Read more about Danny: “A Love That Helps Your Place Live Up To Its Full Potential”

• Learn more about the Strong Towns approach to public investment.

• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).

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

Noah Roth is the founder of Streetcraft, a platform that uses visual storytelling and urban design to explore and improve the built environment. He joins Tiffany to talk about what led him to this form of advocacy, how visualizations can bring people on board with a project, and what he’s learned since starting his platform.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Want to hear more from Noah? Get your National Gathering tickets today!

• Streetcraft (YouTube)

• Local Recommendations:

  • Sleeping Bear National Dunes

  • The Flying Noodle

  • Farm Club

• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

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

Danny Lapin is a revitalization specialist with the New York State Department of State. He and Norm discuss the ways that New York state is encouraging bottom-up community development, as well as Danny’s strategies for getting buy-in from communities that are wary of state programs or intervention.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Danny Lapin (LinkedIn)

• Read more about Danny: “A Strong Towns Voice in State Government”

• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).

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

Rachel Leonardo is the video producer at Strong Towns. She has a bachelor’s degree in architecture and specializes in breaking down complex topics into clear, actionable ideas that inspire local change.

Rachel and Tiffany discuss the importance of collaboration in building great places that foster community, culture, and connection. They explore how social media can encourage that collaboration and how it intersects with Strong Towns’ mission.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Want to hear more from Rachel? Get your National Gathering tickets today!

• See Rachel’s work:

  • Studio Leonardo (YouTube)

  • Strong Towns (YouTube)

• Local Recommendations:

  • Bar Casa Jesus Mari

  • Posada de Sorauren  

  • Gosaria Coffee Shop

• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!