The Bottom-Up Revolution

Consider how your community builds wealth. Well, as a Strong Town advocate, you may think of your local entrepreneurs, creating homegrown products and services to serve the community; or you may think of your downtown, where residents gather and use these products and services.  

Brandon Schielak—Strong Towns member and this episode’s guest on It’s the Little Things—has witnessed the value of entrepreneurship in his rural community of La Grange, Texas. They’ve built thriving businesses in downtown and contribute to La Grange’s economic ecosystem. 

But as Brandon further investigated how to support rural entrepreneurs, he discovered an opportunity that he’d later transform into a product for rural communities across North America: institutions, such as schools or nonprofit organization, still sold product produced outside the community for their local fundraisers. 

Think the magazine subscriptions or the tins of flavored popcorn that you’d pitch to your neighbors in exchange for a low payment of $50 for your elementary school. 

That’s why Brandon and his wife created The PlatForum: an online marketplace where organizations can view a catalog of local products and services, which they can use for their local fundraisers. 

Today, The PlatForum has partnered with dozens of communities across North America—with a focus on rural communities—who’ve made a small bet to reimagine how they can support local entrepreneurs, keeping their dollars in the community in the process. 

In this episode, Brandon reflects on his experiences at The PlatForum and shares how you can support rural entrepreneurs in your community, including how rural communities traditionally think of economic development, how to find and cultivate rural entrepreneurs, and—most important—how to plug them into your local, economic ecosystem.

This week at Strong Towns is of our fall member drive—where the Strong Towns staff has all hands on deck to encourage readers and listeners just like you to become members of the Strong Towns movement. Therefore, we’re changing the game up a bit on It’s the Little Things and sharing a story of how a Strong Towns member—Andy Diaz out of Peoria, Illinois—has used the Strong Towns message to make his community stronger. 

If you’ve followed It’s the Little Things for a bit, you may remember our past episode with Andy Diaz, where he shared the story of his organization Urban Acres and how he made small yet effective bets to provide healthy food in his community. 

Well, in usual Strong Towns fashion, since that conversation, Andy has made several more small bets in his community that have inspired his neighbors to reimagine what economic development means for a community striving to become a strong town. 

Today, Andy—along with the help of his father and wife—run market slash entrepreneur incubator that gives residents in the neighborhood an opportunity to sell their product and, over time, contribute to the financial resiliency of the community. (Oh, yeah, and all without any tax subsidies from the city.) 

I have a lot of love for Andy and the way he’s demonstrated the Strong Towns movement in Peoria, Illinois time and time—and am so excited to share this episode with you. And if you like what you hear, please—from the bottom of my heart—consider becoming a member of the Strong Towns movement. 5 dollars, 10 dollars, however much you’re compelled to give however often helps us grow this movement that we all love and support. And, with your heart, we’re certain we can truly lead a bottom-up revolution to build strong cities, towns, and neighborhoods across North America.

Join the movement today at strongtowns.org/membership.

Benjy Wax and Ric Miranda—staff members at BUILD Chicago, one of Chicago’s leading gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development organizations—share how you can serve the youth in high-risk neighborhoods in your community, including why mutual respect must precede interventions, why city leaders must understand their constituents daily life on the neighborhood-level, and what steps you can take today to serve the youth in your community. 

Melody Warnick—author of This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are—joins Community Builder Jacob Moses for an episode of Celebrity Ask Strong Towns to discuss how everyone, whether they're rooted in place or dream of greener pastures, can learn to love where they live.

Steve MacDouell—Professor at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario and frequent contributor at Strong Towns—shares how micro-neighborliness has transformed his neighborhood and how you can foster micro-neighborliness in your own neighborhood, as well, including how small, low-lift acts inspire neighborliness, how micro-neighborliness inspires neighbors to invest in their neighborhoods, and which low-lift acts you can make today to foster micro-neighborliness in your own neighborhood. 

This is a special mash-up edition of the It’s the Little Things podcast and Strong Towns podcast! 

In this episode, Jacob Moses, host of It’s the Little Things, and Strong Towns president Chuck Marohn discuss a couple of Jacob’s favorite chapters from Chuck’s brand new book, Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity, which just released yesterday. 

Jacob and Chuck reflect on the moments throughout Chuck’s life that inspired the Strong Towns movement, including the fist bump that began Chuck’s long friendship and collaboration with Joe Minicozzi of Urban3. Jacob and Chuck also discuss what we can learn from our forebears about productivity (as opposed to merely “growth”) and why communities need to make maintenance an obsession.

They go on to talk about the importance of observation, a practice given too little attention among professional engineers and planners, but which seems to be a common characteristic of people who really love their places. As Chuck puts it: “The merging of places that are healthy and strong financially, and places that are healthy and strong from a human standpoint, is the exact nexus that the Strong Towns approach is designed to get us to.”

Visit the Hyde Park neighborhood in South Los Angeles and you’ll find the usual culprits of a food desert, such as fast-food chains and gas stations. But enter Kelli Jackson’s corner store—Hank’s Mini Market—and you’ll discover how cities can address food deserts without forgoing future tax revenue.

Salvador “Sal” Galdamez—founder and President of York nonprofit York XL—shares how you can lead a revolution in your own community, including, how to share your vision with the neighborhoods in which you work, how to build trust with neighbors, and how to ensure your investment includes everyone in the neighborhood.

Cary Westerbeck—Strong Towns member and founder of Bothellites for People-Oriented Places (Bo-POP)—shares how you can create people-oriented places in your own community, including, how to educate people about people-oriented places, how these places create more financially resilient places, and how you can demonstrate your vision. 

Strong Towns member Austin Taylor—Parking and Sustainability Coordinator for Provo City, Utah—shares how you can use tactical urbanism to create safer streets, including how to plan your intervention, how to get local government involved, and how to use your intervention to create lasting change.