The Bottom-Up Revolution

Chelsea Lawson is a Strong Towns member who’s putting her data-oriented mind to work to make her city and other cities stronger.

Lawson has worked in both local government and private consulting, helping cities like Los Angeles and Miami use data to understand how things are working and how to make them work better.

What we especially appreciate about Chelsea is the way that she’s taken her passion for data analysis and found a ton of creative ways to make her town stronger using those skills. Whether she’s working on a professional project or just walking through her neighborhood, she’s doing the math on what’s going to create the best return on investment and steward local resource well.

In this interview, you’ll learn about how even the trash in your garbage can plays an important role in shaping the future of your city, and how you can tie personal goals with community betterment. Chelsea shows us that doing the math is an essential part of building a strong town.

Additional Show Notes

• Social Impact Calculator for public investment and policy decisions

• Optimal Self (life game) dashboard and instructions

• Clean Streets Santa Monica Community Organizing

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