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This podcast features stories of the Strong Towns movement in action. Hosted by Tiffany Owens Reed, 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.
Episodes

Tuesday May 27, 2025
Bottom-Up Shorts: How State Governments Can Foster Strong Towns
Tuesday May 27, 2025
Tuesday May 27, 2025
Danny Lapin is a revitalization specialist with the New York State Department of State. He and Norm discuss the ways that New York state is encouraging bottom-up community development, as well as Danny’s strategies for getting buy-in from communities that are wary of state programs or intervention.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Danny Lapin (LinkedIn)
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Read more about Danny: “A Strong Towns Voice in State Government”
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Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).
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Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Thursday May 22, 2025
Rachel Leonardo: How Social Media Builds Collaboration and Great Places
Thursday May 22, 2025
Thursday May 22, 2025
Rachel Leonardo is the video producer at Strong Towns. She has a bachelor’s degree in architecture and specializes in breaking down complex topics into clear, actionable ideas that inspire local change.
Rachel and Tiffany discuss the importance of collaboration in building great places that foster community, culture, and connection. They explore how social media can encourage that collaboration and how it intersects with Strong Towns’ mission.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Want to hear more from Rachel? Get your National Gathering tickets today!
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See Rachel’s work:
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Studio Leonardo (YouTube)
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Strong Towns (YouTube)
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Local Recommendations:
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Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
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Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Wednesday May 21, 2025
Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Build a Network of Advocates
Wednesday May 21, 2025
Wednesday May 21, 2025
Hazen Elwood is a student, a member of Strong Towns Calgary (in Alberta, Canada), and a community manager with the organization For the City. Today, Norm and Hazen discuss ways to build an advocacy network and the power of raising local awareness through storytelling.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Unsprawling (site)
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Calgary made it to the Elite Eight in this year’s Strongest Town Contest. There are many great lessons that cities of all sizes can learn from their hard work. Click here to read more about their progress.
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Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).
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Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Thursday May 15, 2025
Justine Underhill: Using Media To Build a Better City
Thursday May 15, 2025
Thursday May 15, 2025
Justine Underhill is an elected city council member in Falls Church, Virginia, and an award-winning video journalist and independent filmmaker. She’s worked for international and domestic news organizations, created an award-winning docuseries, and started an educational YouTube channel.
Justine joins Tiffany to discuss how media can be used to connect with people and drive change.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Want to hear more from Justine? Get your National Gathering tickets today!
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Learn more about Justine’s work:
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Local Recommendations:
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Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
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Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Tuesday May 13, 2025
Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Make a More Walkable City
Tuesday May 13, 2025
Tuesday May 13, 2025
How do you turn three people with snow shovels into an initiative that gets covered on the news, triggers a city-funded pilot program, and inspires people to stay in the city long-term? That’s what Andrew Neidhardt and Dustin Moore of Walkable Albany, a Local Conversation in New York, are here to explain.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Walkable Albany (site).
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Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).
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Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Thursday May 08, 2025
Rosaline Hill: Proving the Power of Infill Housing Development
Thursday May 08, 2025
Thursday May 08, 2025
Rosaline Hill is a registered professional planner and awards-winning architect from Ottawa, Canada. She’s consulted on zoning for the city of Ottawa and is the founder and principle architect of BuildingIn, a planning program that helps municipalities reach their housing goals through infill development.
Today, Rosaline joins Tiffany to discuss the complexities of housing reform. She explains how she created a 3D modeling program that helps municipalities visualize and argue persuasively for development.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Local Recommendations:
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Learn more about Rosaline’s work:
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BuildingIn (site)
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Walkable Ottawa (site)
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Ottawa Cohousing (site)
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Learn about the six simple code reforms local officials can implement today to welcome new housing.
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Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
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Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Tuesday May 06, 2025
Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Build a Stronger Richmond Hill
Tuesday May 06, 2025
Tuesday May 06, 2025
In this episode of Bottom Up Shorts, Norm is joined by Saeed Vahid, a Local Conversation leader from Richmond Hill, Ontario. They talk about how he started the Local Conversation, how the group is collaborating with city officials, and how the expansion of the Greater Toronto Area has affected Richmond Hill.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Strong Richmond Hill (site).
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Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn).
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Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Friday May 02, 2025
Diane Alisa: How To Restore the American Village
Friday May 02, 2025
Friday May 02, 2025
Diane Alisa is an author and founder of the nonprofit End Car Dependency. Her nonprofit helps support families by making it easier to get around safely without a car, build strong support networks, and empower children to be part of their communities.
Diane joins this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss the impact of car-dependent design on families and the importance of building integrated communities (or "villages").
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Support the work of advocates like Diane by becoming a Strong Towns member today!
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Local Recommendations:
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“Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village” by Diane Alisa
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End Car Dependency (website)
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Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
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Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Bottom-Up Shorts: How Normal People Can Make a Big Difference
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Daniel Bloemker is a Strong Towns member and Local Conversation leader from Bellingham, Washington. He’s been instrumental in advancing local efforts on parking reform, housing, and community spaces. He joins Norm in this Bottom-Up Short to discuss these efforts and the progress the city has made.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Want to support advocates like Daniel? Become a Strong Towns member today.
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Bellingham won the “Most Progress in Building Better Budgets” award in the Strongest Town Contest. There are many great lessons that cities of all sizes can learn from their hard work.

Thursday Apr 24, 2025
Elizabeth Turman-Bryant: The Bottom Up Path to Local Leadership
Thursday Apr 24, 2025
Thursday Apr 24, 2025
Elizabeth Turman-Bryant is a councilmember in Burlington, Washington. She's passionate about community building, revitalizing historical areas, and making Burlington more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.
Turman-Bryant joins Tiffany to discuss her journey from nonprofit work to local government. She explains some of the projects she’s working on and the importance of striking a balance between the responsiveness of bottom-up activism and the influence of local government involvement.
ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES
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Local Recommendations:
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Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
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Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!