594.8K
Downloads
331
Episodes
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
Monday Mar 23, 2026
Monday Mar 23, 2026
Chicago organizers Ellen Steinke and Dr. Chloe Groome walk through the fight to re-legalize ADUs, fix single-family zoning, and head off a looming transit fiscal cliff. They recount the campaign to save transit funding, including a sketch-driven show that turned insider debates about the Road Fund into something regular Chicagoans could act on. The episode follows their blend of detailed policy work, neighborhood organizing, and improv-rooted comedy.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Vote for Chicago in the Strongest Town Contest!
- Strong Towns Chicago (Site)
- Strong Towns Chicago (Instagram)
- Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
- 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!
Monday Mar 23, 2026
Monday Mar 23, 2026
After repeated crashes into a beloved coffee shop, residents in Madison, Wisconsin pushed for a fast, inexpensive lane change instead of another long, consultant‑driven process. Josh Olson explains how neighbors gathered speed data, won a two‑month trial, and helped make the change permanent. Along the way, he shares how that work fed into broader safety goals, housing reforms, and a shift from “why don’t we” to “how can we.”
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Vote for Madison in the Strongest Town Contest!
- Strong Towns Madison (Site)
- Strong Towns Madison(Instagram)
- Madison Property Tax Value Per Acre (Site)
- Counting Cranes (Substack)
- Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
- 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!
Thursday Mar 19, 2026
Thursday Mar 19, 2026
When Graham McBain moved to Sacramento, he realized he had no local friends—just nearby houses. In this episode, he shares the simple, sometimes scary steps that turned that street into block parties, front-yard hangouts, and kids biking freely between homes. The conversation traces that change on his block and highlights practical ways to start building community where you live, with the people already around you.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Local Recommendations:
- Hey Neighbor Hub (site)
- Hey Neighbor Hub (Instagram)
- Hey Neighbor Hub (YouTube)
- Hey Neighbor Hub (TikTok)
- 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!
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Most parents worry about safer routes to school but can’t track every plan or attend every meeting. In Lafayette, Kirk Wandy and Brian Parsons help lead Vibrant Lafayette in doing the legwork—digging into projects like the School Street path, meeting with staff, and then giving busy families clear, targeted ways to show up when it matters most.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Vibrant Lafayette (Site)
- Vibrant Lafayette (Instagram)
- Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
- 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!
Thursday Mar 12, 2026
Thursday Mar 12, 2026
Instead of waiting for permission or a grand plan, Preston Ross III started picking up trash on his own block—and kept going. Learn how that simple habit evolved into a nonprofit, a workforce program for unhoused neighbors, and a practical playbook for taking action in your town.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Local Recommendations:
- The Great Raleigh Cleanup (site)
- The Great Raleigh Cleanup (Instagram)
- 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!
Tuesday Mar 10, 2026
Tuesday Mar 10, 2026
A small Indiana city took on a 54‑mile, $3.4 billion highway with yard signs, town halls, and hard numbers. Mark Nowotarski traces six years of grassroots organizing against the MidStates Corridor, from local resistance in Dubois County to growing pressure at the State House. Along the way, Jasper’s story shows how a community can push back when a mega‑project threatens its future and quality of life.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Don't make Southern Indiana's 'sacrifice zone' worse with Mid-State Corridor (Article)
- Jasper, Indiana winner of the Strongest Town Contest in 2022 (Site)
- Mark Nowotarski (LinkedIn)
- Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
- 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!
Thursday Mar 05, 2026
Thursday Mar 05, 2026
In an era of quick, generic construction, Austin Tunnell makes the case for caring about beauty and craft. He shares lessons from masonry, small‑scale development, and his own projects on creating places people actually enjoy using every day.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Local Recommendations:
- The Building Culture Podcast (site)
- Building Culture (site)
- Townsend Project (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!
Tuesday Mar 03, 2026
Tuesday Mar 03, 2026
Discover how Denton mom and civic advocate Lauren Penn turned her front yard into a thriving micro market for local makers and families, all without a big budget. She shares what it took, from permits and vendors to a rainy launch day, and how a small, homegrown experiment can help knit a neighborhood together.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Pop-Up Market Makers (Instagram)
- Pop-Up Market Makers (Site)
- Stronger Denton
- Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
- 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!
Thursday Feb 26, 2026
Thursday Feb 26, 2026
Downtown Portland is full of vacant lots, surface parking, and struggling storefronts—and every one of them has a price tag. Sam and Jeremiah break down how they estimated the city’s road and pipe costs, modeled new tax revenue from redeveloping a downtown highway, and started pushing for a vacancy fee. Their approach offers a clear template for linking land use to your city’s bottom line.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Local Recommendations:
- Strong Towns PDX (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!
Tuesday Feb 24, 2026
Tuesday Feb 24, 2026
After moving through nine states, Aaron Caldwell chose Fayetteville as home—and started using his data skills to decode city finances and a key local bond. In this episode, his work on a modest South Fayetteville infill project, close collaboration with city staff, and a growing circle of locals working to make the city more resilient show what Strong Towns looks like through one resident’s life.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
- Aaron Caldwell (LinkedIn)
- Local Recommendations:
- Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
- 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!