Podcasts about strong towns

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!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

The Tulsa Remote program pays remote workers $10,000 to relocate to Tulsa for a year. A study found that, for every dollar spent, Tulsa sees $4.31 in economic benefits, including increased local spending, tax revenue, and job creation. Abby is joined by John Pattinson, Strong Towns' community builder, discuss whether this kind of program is a smart way to boost the local economy. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move” by Rthvika Suvarna and Fola Akinnibi, Bloomberg CityLab (May 2025).‍ Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).‍‍ Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

What does it mean to live wisely and grow well in the desert? Judith Rognli of Strong Towns WashCo shares how St. George residents are facing water scarcity, rapid growth, and livability challenges as a community. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong Towns WashCo Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How do you make streets safer without gentrifying an area? Will self-driving cars change the way we build cities? Are engineers tracking congestion the right way? Chuck discusses these questions and more with Vignesh Swaminathan, a civil engineer and project manager at Kimley-Horn. Also known as Mr. Barricade, Vignesh has built a massive online following by making street design understandable and fun. As Chuck says in the episode, “This is not your grandpa's engineer.” Additional Show Notes Connect with Mr. Barricade: TikTok Instagram Email: vignesh.swaminathan@kimley-horn.com Chuck Marohn (Substack)   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Listener emails in response to last episode's bike lane hater from Eric Brightwell, host of the Nobody Drives in LA podcast https://ericbrightwell.com/nobody-drives-in-la/ and Ross, a West Hollywood vehicular cyclist who uses the street on which Bike Lane Hater does not want a lane (0:21). What are the legal implications for organizing a community bike ride, bike bus, or other non-sponsored event? asks listener Dr. Rick Bosacker. Our lawyer/sponsor Jim Pocrass lays down the law on liability for taco ride organizers (4:43). Strong Towns founder and Confessions of a Recovering Engineer author Chuck Marohn and the author of A Love Letter to Suburbia Diane Alisa on why we don't have better bike infrastructure, the right/left divide, and how we'll get things done (9:40). Boston's Bikeway Block Party is an inclusive, community-focused festival designed to showcase arts, activities, and culture and celebrate shared space. Jim Cadenhead, original Bike Talk host and BBP organizer, recaps the Party (34:06). Bay Area Transit's Biking, Birding, and BART ride: Stacey Randecker with BART Bike Access Program Manager Heath Maddox and BART Bicycle Task Force member Moe Gevirtz (41:05).

How did we go from building strong, prosperous cities to weak, debt-ridden ones? In this episode, Chuck tracks the cultural and economic impacts of World War II on our development pattern. He explains what must change if we want to build strong cities again. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES This episode is a recording of a presentation Chuck gave in Denver. Click here to see some of the images Chuck references. Get the Finance Decoder. Chuck Marohn (Substack)   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Butch Roussel is the founder of the 24 Hour Citizen Project, an annual event that connects everyday citizens with the expertise and resources they need to solve challenges in their town. Over the last decade, the 24 Hour Citizen Project has funded dozens of incredible projects to the tune of $170,000 and counting. Butch joins Tiffany to discuss the big impact that small, locally funded projects can have on a community and how to bring those projects to life. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Blue Moon Saloon Reve Coffee Central Pizza Festival Acadiens The 24 Hour Citizen 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. Click here to learn more about membership.

As baby boomers downsize, relocate, or pass away, millions of homes are projected to rejoin the housing market by 2030, potentially exceeding housing demand by 1 million homes. In today's episode, Chuck and Abby discuss how generational shifts affect the housing market, what an excess of supply could mean for cities' financial stability, and how a simple "build, build, build" mindset could cause serious problems down the line. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Forget YIMBY. The housing shortage could disappear on its own.” by Robert Showah, The Washington Post (September 2025).‍ Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).‍‍ Chuck Marohn (Substack) Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

In this special episode of Bottom-Up Shorts, Norm is joined by John Pattison, Strong Towns' community builder and head of the Local Conversations program. They discuss what drives people to start one of these local advocacy groups, as well as the real costs and rewards of stepping into leadership. They also explore how mentorship, shared tools, and bottom-up collaboration knit single-issue advocates into a culture of lasting community change. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Learn more about Local Conversations. Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here! Subscribe to The Bottom-Up Revolution on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Podbean or via RSS. ‍ This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Why are America's streets so dangerous — and what can we do about it? In this episode, Chuck talks with Wes Marshall, author of “Killed by a Traffic Engineer” and professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. From the history of traffic engineering to the failures of Vision Zero, they explore how design decisions shape safety — and what it will take to build streets that protect everyone. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Look Both Ways with David & Wes (Podbean) Wes Marshall (site) Chuck Marohn (Substack)   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Jessica David and Josh Daley are co-founders of Local Return, a nonprofit in Rhode Island dedicated to building community wealth through ownership and investment. They empower residents through education and financing, with a particular focus on small-scale developers and small business owners. Today, Jessica and Josh explain how Local Return works, how it benefits communities, and the legal and technical challenges of starting this kind of program. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Apsara Thai White Electric Coffee Figidini's Pizza Local Return (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. Click here to learn more about membership.

For years, investors and speculators shaped Canada's housing market. But now, people who actually live in those homes are beginning to have more influence. Today, Abby is joined by Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Strong Towns' director of membership and a Canadian, to discuss how this shift happened, how it'll affect Canada's housing market, and the implications for the rest of North America. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “End-users, rather than investors, expected to drive Vancouver housing market higher” by Kerry Gold, The Globe and Mail (September 2025).‍ Abby Newsham (X/Twitter).‍ Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn)‍ Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Christine Corrado is a city councilmember in Brighton, New York. She's also the founder of Brighton Safe Streets for All and has served on a variety of city committees, from the Zoning Board of Appeals to the Public Works Committee. She and Norm discuss how she's making her community safer and more prosperous. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Brighton Safe Streets for All (Facebook) Christine Corrado LinkedIn Town of Brighton (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!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Professor Jack Duncan is a professor of architecture and preservation at the College of Charleston. His mission is to help students and communities understand and rediscover the human-scaled patterns that make places beautiful, legible, and lasting. Today, Jack joins Tiffany to discuss how this mission relates to architecture, urbanism, and craftsmanship. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Nathaniel Russell House Magnolia Plantation Gardens Angel Oak on Johns Island Duncan & Co. Studio (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. Click here to learn more about membership.

Hosts Susanne McNinch and Chez Filippini talk with Jacob Hyman about his inspiring journey from being raised Jewish to becoming a Catholic convert while studying engineering at Florida State University. He also talks about becoming involved with New Polity and the Strong Towns movement, viewing his work through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching, and his inspiration from Blessed Alberto Marvelli, a civil engineer who believed in creating environments that remind people they have souls.Learn more about the Civic Leader Summit in Pensacola:https://bit.ly/47RYlGg

Several high-profile members of the government have been accused of committing mortgage fraud recently, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Today, Chuck and Abby explore how mortgage fraud distorts the housing market, why it happens so frequently — and why no one in the financial system is interested in stopping it. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Ken Paxton Claimed Three Houses as His Primary Residence, Records Show” by Pooja Salhotra, The New York Times (July 2025). “Mortgage-Fraud Accusations Are Trump's New Political Weapon” by Gina Heeb and Brian Schwartz, The Wall Street Journal (August 2025). Chuck Marohn (Substack) Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Gioia Calabretta is one of the leaders of Livable Lynchburg, a Local Conversation in Virginia. She is also Strong Towns' graphic design intern. She and Norm discuss a walk audit she recently participated in, as well as her unique viewpoint as both a Local Conversation leader and Strong Towns staff member. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Livable Lynchburg (Instagram) See more from Gioia: LinkedIn “I Refuse To Accept That My Best Days of Walkability Were in College” by Gioia Calabretta Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Chuck is joined by James Anderson, head of the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. Under his leadership, the program has helped thousands of cities worldwide embrace an innovative, people-based approach to local governance. Today, Chuck and James discuss why local governments matter now more than ever. Then they explore ways that residents, advocates, and organizations can encourage city leaders to embrace innovation. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Bloomberg Philanthropies (site) Bloomberg Cities Network (site) Chuck Marohn (Substack)   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Will Gardner is the founder of South Coast Places For People, a new nonprofit — and Strong Towns Local Conversation — in Massachusetts. He previously founded Alma del Mar Charter Schools and now spends much of his time plotting street redesigns, housing reforms, and community events. In this episode, Will discusses the three working groups his Local Conversation recently started, which focus on parking reform, backyard cottages, and street safety. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Millicent Library in Fair Haven New Bedford Whaling Museum Ice Cream Cottage South Coast Places For People StrongHaven (Substack) Learn more about Strong Towns Local Conversations. 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. Click here to learn more about membership.

Join Abby and guest John Pattison as they dive into the benefits and drawbacks of "sponge cities," cities that incorporate natural features like wetlands into their stormwater management infrastructure. Is this method more resilient in the long term? Do the benefits outweigh the massive cost? How does this relate to the incremental, bottom-up approach? They'll cover all this and more in today's episode of Upzoned. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “‘Sponge City': Copenhagen Adapts to a Wetter Future” by Paul Hockenos, Yale Environment 360 (July 2025). Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Today, Norm is joined by Jess and Dan Sollaccio from Warrenton, Oregon. Jess is a city commissioner and a small-scale housing developer. Dan is a commissioner for the Warrenton Budget Committee and works remotely for a financial institution. They explain their asset-based mindset for strengthening their community, as well as their efforts to redevelop a vacant building into a community hub. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Jessica Sollaccio (site) The Outpost (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!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Memphis, Tennessee, was ranked the #1 most dangerous metro area by Smart Growth America in 2024. That's not stopping Kelsey Huse, a safe streets advocate and grad student studying city and regional planning. She's tackling the problem head-on by analyzing car crash sites, helping launch a city-wide advocacy coalition, and raising awareness for safer infrastructure online. Today, Kelsey joins Tiffany to share the inside scoop on Memphis' dangerous design and how she's working to change it. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Lulu's Cafe Overton Park Follow Kelsey on Instagram at Memphis Urbanism Learn more about the Memphis Crash Analysis Studio. 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. Click here to learn more about membership.

Data centers power everything from cloud computing to artificial intelligence, and they use a massive amount of electricity, sometimes even rivaling major cities. Watchdogs claim that tech companies aren't absorbing the costs of this electricity use, causing rate payers' electricity bills to spike as they're forced to subsidize these data centers. Today, Edward and Abby discuss the far-reaching implications of this kind of land use. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “As electric bills rise, evidence mounts that data centers share blame. States feel pressure to act.” by Marc Levy, AP News (August 2025). Want to bring the conversation to your community? Book Edward as a speaker. Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Eva López Chávez is a city council member in Salt Lake City, Utah. Eva has been involved in many layers of local government, including working as a city staffer and construction project manager. Today, she and Norm discuss how she became a city councilor and how she's building prosperity in her city. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Connect with Eva: Instagram LinkedIn City Council (site) Bring the conversation to your community by booking Norm as a speaker! Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Ashley Thornton is the founder of Waco Walks, an organization devoted to promoting walkability in Waco, Texas. She was inspired to start the organization after spending a year with walking as her primary form of transportation. Ashley and Tiffany discuss the design choices that make Waco difficult to walk in and how Waco Walks is working to change that. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: El Conquistador Mexican Restaurant Dubl-R Burgers Cameron Trading Company Helados La Aztecas on 25th Waco Walks (Facebook) Act Locally Waco (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. Click here to learn more about membership.

Colorado's population is rapidly aging. Soon, one in five people in the state will be be over 65 years old. Limited housing stock means seniors are stuck in too-large homes that they can't afford to maintain. In turn, that means there's fewer large homes for younger families who need them. Today, Abby is joined by Katy Clagett, an incremental developer originally from Colorado who's working to develop infill housing options for seniors. They discuss what Colorado's situation means for communities and how we can reshape housing to be more adaptable to the needs of all age groups. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “As Colorado ages, seniors are colliding with the housing crisis” by Brian Eason, The Colorado Sun (June 2025). Learn how to create a more flexible housing market. Katy Claggett Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Mark Hoppen is a former city manager and Strong Towns member who's been quietly strengthening communities in Washington state for decades. In this Bottom Up Short, Norm and Mark talk about why someone should pursue a career in city management, what real priorities look like in that role, and how to lead with both care and practicality. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Gig Harbor Boatshop (site) Bring the conversation to your community by booking Norm as a speaker! Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

How strong are the cities and places in Greenville County? We apply the 10-question Strong Towns Strengths Test to discover what makes a community thrive, from its main street to its zoning.Links:Read the official Strong Towns Strengths TestListen to our episode on Cities, Towns, Places, and Zip Codes_Produced by Podcast Studio X.Simple Civics: Greenville County is a project of Greater Good Greenville.Get in touch.Support Simple Civics with a tax-deductible contribution.Sign up for the Simple Civics newsletter.

Chuck is joined by Quint Studer, the founder of the Center for Civic Engagement in Pensacola, Florida. They discuss Strong Towns' involvement in Pensacola's renewal and the Civic Leader Summit that will be held there in September. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Civic Leader Summit Quint Studer (site) Chuck Marohn (Substack) Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Adult friendships are difficult. A big part of that is our built environment, which is often designed in a way that stifles social connection instead of supporting it. Kat Vellos is an author, facilitator, and connection coach who's working to change that. She and Tiffany discuss the importance of community building, ways to redesign our built environment, and other steps residents and local leaders can take to help their community thrive. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Jack London Square Oakland's Grand Lake Farmer's Market See more from Kat: We Should Get Together (site) “We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships” (book) 1-on-1 coaching Platonic Action Lab (course) Downloadable tools: Better than Small Talk and the Better Conversations Kit 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. Click here to learn more about membership.

In January 2025, wildfires swept across Los Angeles with record-breaking destruction. To encourage swift rebuilding, Governor Newsom suspended environmental regulations. But six months later, only a fraction of homeowners have even received permits, let alone started the rebuilding process. Chuck is joined by Edward Erfurt, Strong Towns' chief technical advisor, to talk about why, as well as the deeper challenges of rebuilding in fire-prone areas. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Why it's taking LA so long to rebuild” by Umair Irfan, Vox (July 2025). Want to bring the conversation to your community? Book Chuck or Edward as a speaker. Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Ashley Salvador is a city councilor in Edmonton, Alberta. She's a national leader in housing reform, zoning modernization, and urban revitalization. Ashley joins Norm on this Bottom-Up Short to discus one of her recent initiatives, which focuses on reducing the number of derelict and dangerous properties in the city. Ashley shares how she helped bring Canada's first Derelict Tax Subclass into effect and how it's driving revitalization. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES More from Ashley: “Cleaning Up Our Communities: Canada's First Derelict Tax Subclass a Success” “Will Edmonton Be the First Major Canadian City to Eliminate Parking Minimums?” “Want more local businesses in your neighborhood? Then legalize ‘Accessory Commercial Units.'” “The Bottom-Up Revolution is... Building Gentle Density and a Grassroots Campaign for City Council” Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

No matter how easy we make it to build, the existing housing system is based on a financial model that cannot tolerate lower prices. If falling prices is the goal, then we need to build a system that can deliver on it. In this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck explains how our current system prevents prices from falling and how we can build a better one. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Learn how to actually make housing affordable with the Housing-Ready Toolkit. Chuck Marohn (Substack) Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Jeral Poskey is the founder and CEO of Swyft Cities, a California-based tech company that's spearheading a totally new transportation system. Jeral explains his unique approach to creating realistic transportation innovations. He describes the transportation system Swyft Cities has created and how it could address the issues that many cities face — like traffic, land wasted on parking, and difficulty with infill development. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Gelato Classico on Castro Season's Noodles and Dumplings Garden Ox9 Lanzhou Handpulled Noodles California Street Complete Street Bay Trail Swyft Cities (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. Click here to learn more about membership.

In Lincoln County, South Dakota, a growing agriculture company is being charged $50,000 annually for wear and tear on township roads caused by the company's trucks and machinery. Abby and Edward discuss the balancing act between infrastructure costs and municipal budgets, especially in rural areas with few taxpayers. They explore the public process behind this kind of decision and offer suggestions on how it could be improved. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Milk facility to pay $50,000 for road use” by Rae Yost, KELOLAND (July 2025). Want to bring the conversation to your community? Book Edward as a speaker. Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.

Dr. Alicia Pederson is a writer and advocate who encourages cities to adopt courtyard urbanism, a style of development where mixed-use buildings surround a shared courtyard. Today, she joins Norm to explain the benefits of this development style and how to advocate for it. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Drawing by Leon Krier 6 housing reforms that could help make courtyard blocks possible. Read more from Alicia: Urban Courtyard (X/Twitter) “Chicago's affordable housing plan demands a courtyard block blueprint” Chicago Tribune “The courtyard block solution to Chicago's family flight problem” Chicago Tribune “A better way to approach the challenge of Lincoln Yards” Crain's Chicago Business Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.  

In this special episode, Chuck is joined by Graham Campbell, director of Economics & Research for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. They discuss the true cost of infrastructure — and why both New Zealand and North America are facing the same financial and structural challenges. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Chuck Marohn (Substack) Want to bring the conversation to your city? Book Chuck Marohn as a speaker.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Meet Burhan Azeem, a city councilor in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A graduate of MIT, he's the youngest councilor in the city's history and has a special focus on housing affordability and street safety. Burhan has successfully expanded zoning for affordable housing, removed parking minimums, and helped build bike lanes throughout the city. He also helped found a nonprofit that impacts housing policy on the state level. Today, he and Tiffany sit down to discuss how he got to this point and what he's working on next. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Café 1369 Kendall Rooftop Garden Greenline Bike Path Burhan Azeem (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. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Send us a textSummary: Monte and I talk about incremental development and starting a 12 Steps to Town Making small-scale developer ecosystem.________________________________________________________Sponsor: This show is supported by the Top Five Newsletter. If you want a simple and to-the-point update on Raleigh commercial development, you can subscribe to the Top Five. It's free if you want it to be!________________________________________________________Big Takeaways:- There are four corners to any small-scale ecosystem: the Public, Private, Non-Profit, and Financial Sectors.- How Monte's room mate house works.- The 12 Steps to Town Making.________________________________________________________About Monte: Monte Anderson is a passionate advocate for revitalizing underserved communities across the United States.  As president of Options Real Estate, a sales, management, and development company in Southern Dallas County, he applies his deep commitment to improving neighborhoods, particularly those that are impoverished or overlooked. His approach focuses on empowering local residents and fostering sustainable economic growth through small-scale, incremental development.With other like minded colleagues he met through Strong Towns and The Congress for the New Urbanism, Monte co-founded the Incremental Development Alliance and then Neighborhood Evolution (NEVO), two teaching organizations focused on small scale development, local ownership, and building eco systems for cities and towns that encourage this work.  He also co-authored and now teaches "The Twelve Steps of Town Making" which has resulted in success stories all over the country.Connect with Monte: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram Mentioned in the show:- Congress for New Urbanism- Neighborhood Evolution- NYT Article on Monte's Roommate House- Strong Towns- [Book] Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect- Grow Desoto Market Place- [Book] 12 Steps to Town Making_______________________________________________________Sponsor: This show is supported by the Top Five Newsletter. If you want a simple and to-the-point update on Raleigh commercial development, you can subscribe to the Top Five. It's free if you want it to be!Show Notes: Welcome to Dirt NC, where we talk all about the places and spaces of North Carolina and the people who make them awesome. I am your host, Jed Byrne.Throughout my career in engineering, construction, finance, and development, I have worked on nearly every aspect of the land use ecosystem. This show provides an opportunity for me to share what I've learned with you, as well as introduce you to some of my friends, both new and old, who are doing transformative work.With each episode of Dirt NC, my goal

What happens when a city's design puts lives at risk—and someone decides to speak up? In this episode, you'll meet Army Master Sgt. Ben Hultquist, one of the leaders of Strong Towns Fayetteville, a Local Conversation in North Carolina. After a string of preventable deaths, Ben testified in city hall. Now, that testimony is helping turn the conversation in Fayetteville toward people-first design and safer streets. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong Towns Fayetteville (Facebook) Learn how to make your streets safer with the Crash Analysis Studio model. Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

From Iain, whose excellent site you can find at this link:The term 'messy' is a growing one when it comes to cities just now, and it's a refreshing one in what has for the last little while been the domain of the planner, who tends to see the world from the top down. But what makes cities, and indeed a lot of companies, so good is that they embrace what comes from the bottom up.In cities that means what's happening on the street, and how the people are shaping it. In companies it means the front line staff or factory worker being empowered to make changes when they notice something.Anyway, my most recent guest for Challenger cities was Kevin Klinkenberg who has been writing about The Messy City for a while now. So I loved hearing his stories of applying this in his own realm of Kansas City.We talked art walks, roundabouts, neighbourhoods, backyard cottages and the trouble of trying to be neat, tidy and perfect all the time. I suspect people will be really into this one, and a bit thanks to Karen from Strong Towns for making the connection! Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

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 and Tiffany discuss the importance of nature in urban resilience and the benefits of community gardening, from access to healthy food to community building and mental health improvement. Linda explains how a permaculture design philosophy can help cities become more resilient. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Denver Urban Gardens Local Recommendations: Little Owl Coffee The Kitchen Museum of Contemporary Art 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. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Sunbelt cities like Phoenix, Dallas, and Atlanta have long prided themselves on having affordable and abundant housing. However, they're now seeing stagnation in housing construction and rapidly rising costs. Today, Abby is joined by Rachel Leonardo, a trained architect and Strong Towns' video creator, to discuss how rigid single-use zoning has locked cities into expensive fragility. They explore whether these cities can course correct and how they could become more resilient and prosperous in the long-term. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Here are 6 simple ways to make housing more affordable in your community. “Sprawl made the American Sunbelt affordable. Now it's breaking it.” by Marina Bolotnikova, Vox (July 2025). See Rachel's work: Studio Leonardo (YouTube) Strong Towns (YouTube) Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Wendy Nash is the founder of Get Around Caboolture, a grassroots transportation initiative in Caboolture, Australia. She and Norm discuss the group's efforts to promote more transportation options, including hosting the first Week Without Driving outside the U.S. Wendy emphasizes the importance of tailoring messages to different audiences and explains why she would like to see more comedy in advocacy. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Get Around Caboolture Strong Towns Academy Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

In this episode, Chuck dives into the root causes of the housing crisis. Using clips from interviews with housing experts and reporters, he explores the popular theory that the housing crisis is caused by a lack of supply. He shows how this belief relates to the Strong Towns approach. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Learn how to unlock housing in your city: The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform Hear more from… Cullum Clark Conor Dougherty Steve Nygren Chuck Marohn (Substack)   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Brandi Thompson is the “accidental” co-founder and leader of Strong Towns ABQ, a Local Conversation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She's lived in eight states and has worked as a rattlesnake wrangler, a grant writer, and a teacher. She currently works as a flight nurse, providing care to patients who need to be air-lifted to the hospital. Today, Brandi sits down with Tiffany to discuss the strategies that have helped Strong Towns ABQ successfully advocate for zoning reform and against highway expansions. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong Towns ABQ (site) Local Recommendations: Old Town Plaza Bike In Coffee High and Dry Brewing 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. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Alyssa Lee and Kay Crumb are leaders of Strong SacTown, one of the largest and most successful groups in the Strong Towns Local Conversations program. Based in Sacramento, California, the group has 140 engaged members, balances multiple ongoing initiatives, and successfully collaborates with city staff. In this Bottom-Up Short, Alyssa and Kay share their advice for building and sustaining a successful Local Conversation. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong SacTown (site) Alyssa Lee discussed this topic in more depth at the 2025 Strong Towns National Gathering. You can check out her presentation slides here. Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Today, Abby is joined by Bernice Radle, a small-scale developer and historic building preservationist from Buffalo, New York. They cover two developing stories: First, a new bill was proposed that would give the Buffalo housing court more power to sell or repair buildings taken from absentee or negligent landlords. Second, the Historic Preservation Fund is currently at risk. Bernice and Abby discuss how these changes could affect small-scale developers and historic preservationists. Bernice also explores how these two fields are closely linked and should work together to save urban spaces. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Proposed bill would give Buffalo housing court greater authority over derelict properties” by Nate Benson, WGRZ (May 2025). “Preservation Under Threat: A Critical Moment for the Historic Preservation Fund” by Preservation Buffalo Niagara, Buffalo Rising (June 2025). See more from Bernice: Strong Towns Neighborhood Evolution Preservation Buffalo Niagara Abby Newsham (X/Twitter). Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Chuck sits down with Ryan Johnson, the founder and visionary behind Culdesac Tempe, the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S. They discuss the realities of living in and developing a community like Culdesac, from transportation costs to working with local government. Ryan explains how they maintain walkability in an Arizona desert, how they successfully nurture small businesses, and how they encourage people to embrace co-ownership of the community. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Learn more about Culdesac. Chuck Marohn (Substack)   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.

Serenbe is a unique community just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It's based on the development pattern of traditional English villages, with walkable, mixed-use “hamlets” surrounded by nature. In today's episode, Chuck sits down with Serenbe founder Steve Nygren to discuss the process of developing this kind of community, as well as Steve's development philosophy of “radical common sense.” ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “Start in Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where We Live With Radical Common Sense” by Steve Nygren Learn more about Serenbe. Chuck Marohn (Substack)   This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership, including member-exclusive perks.