The Bottom-Up Revolution

Nick Meyer started Volume One magazine when he was fresh out of college as a way to help show his fellow citizens of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the life and vitality happening all around them. Now, 20 years later, the publication has grown tremendously, and expanded into a retail space, cohost, and creator of many local events, and an all-around supporter of the Eau Claire community. 

Eau Claire, like so many places across America, has experienced a decline in economic activity and local pride after important industries wound down operations and left the community in decades past. Volume One was born out of what Nick describes simply as a desire to “see cool things happen here,” and that spark has proven significant in helping to uplift the whole city.

In this conversation on The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast, hosted by Rachel Quednau, Nick talks about the powerful feedback loop that happens when you shine a spotlight on what’s going on in your town. This theme resonates across so many guests we’ve had on the show and featured in articles on the Strong Towns website: when people step up and start to care about their place and take action to make it better, others follow suit, and the bottom-up revolution begins. 

Additional Show Notes

• Volume One magazine

• Outbroken - A Pandemic’s Effect on Wisconsin’s Food and Farms, a short film by Volume One

• Breaking Out of the Resource Trap: An Economic Plan for Resource-Based Communities (free e-book from Strong Towns)

• Send us your own voicemail about the small (or big) thing you’re doing to make your town stronger. Just record a voice memo on your phone and email it to rachel@strongtowns.org.

• Support this podcast by becoming a Strong Towns member today.