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The Bottom-Up Revolution features the stories of the Strong Towns movement in action. Hosted by Tiffany Owens Reed and Norm Van Eeden Petersman, it's all about how regular people have stepped up to make their communities more economically resilient, and how others can implement these ideas in their own places. We’ll talk about taking concrete action steps, connecting with fellow advocates to build power, and surviving the bumps along the way—all in the pursuit of creating stronger towns. Each episode features a Strong Towns advocate who is making positive change in their community.
Podcast Description
The Bottom-Up Revolution features the stories of the Strong Towns movement in action. Hosted by Tiffany Owens Reed and Norm Van Eeden Petersman, it's all about how regular people have stepped up to make their communities more economically resilient, and how others can implement these ideas in their own places. We’ll talk about taking concrete action steps, connecting with fellow advocates to build power, and surviving the bumps along the way—all in the pursuit of creating stronger towns. Each episode features a Strong Towns advocate who is making positive change in their community.
Episodes

12 hours ago
Who Pays When the Highway Gets Bigger?
12 hours ago
12 hours ago
54 min
A wider highway promises faster trips, new investment, and billions of dollars flowing into Houston. Susan Graham and Ally Smither have spent years asking who receives those benefits and who is asked to move, breathe more pollution, or watch another neighborhood get divided. Recorded at the 2024 Strong Towns National Gathering, this session follows Stop TxDOT I-45 through lost votes, a federal pause, and the long work of keeping people involved after the project moves forward anyway. The same system now struggling to maintain what it already built is still asking communities to make room for more.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Ally Smither (LinkedIn), 'How an Opera Singer Joined the Fight Against Freeways' (Article)
- Susan Graham (LinkedIn), '75-Year-Old Houston Advocate Refuses To Surrender to Highway Expansion Project' (Article)
- Stop TxDOT I-45 (Site)
- We Built the Best Interstate System. Now It’s Falling Apart. (Video)
- Mission Accomplished Report (Site)
- Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
- Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!
This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.

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