The Bottom-Up Revolution

What if you could change a dangerous street today instead of waiting 10 years? Isaac Gonzalez founded the advocacy group Slow Down Sacramento to prove that you can. Two years later, the group has helped transform Sacramento from a city that resists innovation to one that's embracing tactical urbanism.

Today, Isaac explains how he kickstarted this change and how you can do the same.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Stop waiting. Start acting. Learn how to analyze crashes and quickly transform streets today.
• Connect with Isaac:
  
  • Slow Down Sacramento (site)
  • Email: slowdownsacramento@gmail.com
  • Strong SacTown (site)
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

McKenzie Ortiz is the founder of Pedestrian Pride, a digital storytelling project that uplifts the realities of life for working-class people who can't drive. She also serves on the Planning and Zoning Commission in Columbia, Missouri. Today, McKenzie joins Tiffany to discuss what it's really like to be a nondriver in America and how storytelling can transform advocacy.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Local Recommendations:
  
  • ‍Uprise Bakery‍
  • Hitt Records‍
  • Ragtag Cinema
• Learn more about Pedestrian Pride
  
  • Website‍
  • Instagram

• McKenzie Ortiz (site)
• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Sam Foster is an engineer, Local Conversation leader, and mayoral candidate in Marietta, Georgia. He joins Norm to talk about why he's running for office at 24 years old, how he uses social media to educate the public, and what he has planned for a more prosperous Marietta.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Connect with Sam:
  
  • Website
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
• A Better Cobb (site)
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Zoe Tishaev and Dylan DelliSanti work for the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit, public interest law firm. As part of the Cities Work program, they partner with cities to make it cheaper, faster and simpler to start small businesses. Today, they join Tiffany to talk about the importance of small businesses and to explain how cities can revitalize their local economies.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Local Recommendations:
  
  • The Pug
  • Copy Cat
• Cities Work
• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Kyle and Beverly Greenwood brought together nearly 2,000 residents to stop a proposed highway in Brazos County, Texas. What began with a single flyer turned into a community victory that protected historic ranches and homes. Today, they join Tiffany to explain how they took on a highway expansion and won.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Local Recommendations:‍
  
  • Messina Hof Winery‍
  • C&J BBQ‍
  • Joe’s Place‍
  • ‍Bush Library‍
  • Aggie Land Safari
• ‍No East Loop (site)‍
• Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Mary Coddington is the founder of Twelve Inc., an affordable housing consulting firm based in Colorado. She also serves on the Denver Planning Board and works with the Colorado State Housing and Finance Authority. Today, she joins Norm to talk about her efforts to bring more housing affordability to her community on the neighborhood, city, and state levels.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Want to bring more housing to your community? Download our brand-new housing toolkit, "Who Will Build the Housing-Ready City?" for free!
• Mary Coddington (LinkedIn)
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Linda Appel Lipsius is the executive director of Denver Urban Gardens, where she supports a network of over 200 gardens and food forests that produce 650,000 pounds of food annually. She also helps launch initiatives to help make Denver a greener, more food-resilient place.

Linda came on this podcast in July to discuss how community gardens can strengthen cities. Today, she rejoins Tiffany for a deeper dive into how the principles of permaculture can shape how we think about cities.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Permaculture Design Principles

• Denver Urban Gardens (site)

• Local Recommendations:‍
  
  • Little Owl Coffee‍
  • The Kitchen‍
  • Museum of Contemporary Arts

• ‍Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram)

• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

‍

Erick Aune is the director of the Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization, as well as a member of Strong Towns Santa Fe. He’s spearheading a major shift in his region’s approach to street safety and design, replacing outdated assumptions with policies that help people thrive. Today he shares his strategy for changing transportation policy.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Erick was a participant in the Strong Towns Accelerator, a personalized coaching program that dives deep into Strong Towns principles and how to apply them. The next session on street design and transportation policy starts January 12, 2026. Click here to claim your spot.
• Santa Fe Metropolitan Transportation Plan
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Norm steps in for Tiffany on this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution. He's joined by Donna Boelen, who served on the city council of Bloomington, Illinois, from 2019 to 2024. Donna shares how she went from speaking at public comment to winning office as a self-taught Strong Towns-style advocate — and offers tips for anyone considering a run for city council.

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Want to learn more about implementing the Strong Towns approach as an elected official? Join Mayor Erin Joyce of Braintree, Massachusetts, for a live virtual workshop at noon on October 23.
• Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)
• Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!