Sara Studdard is a community engagement and communications expert. She’s also a partner at City Thread, a nonprofit consulting firm that specializes in helping city governments design and implement active mobility plans. Studdard joins this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to explore how having a variety of mobility options (walking, biking, public transit, etc.) benefits communities, as well as the importance of effective messaging and communication. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local recommendatio...
Dec 12, 2024•47 min•Ep. 120
In this episode of Bottom-Up Shorts , host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Sully Israel, leader of Strong Towns Santa Barbara, a Local Conversation group. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Santa Barbara’s main street was closed to car traffic, which revitalized the area. Now, Israel and his group are working to keep the street closed to cars and address the community’s other needs in the public realm. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES See more from Sully on his YouTube channel Sullyville or connect with h...
Dec 10, 2024•16 min•Ep. 119
In this episode of Bottom-Up Shorts , host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Ken Kunka, a consultant and coach for small-scale developers. A former building and permitting manager, Kunka helps others develop their craft as builders of stronger communities, with a focus on infill development. Here’s how he does it. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) . Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!...
Dec 03, 2024•14 min•Ep. 118
Jaime Izurieta is an architect, designer and author from Montclair, New Jersey, who focuses on the interaction between users and the built environment. He’s also the founder of Storefront Mastery, an award-winning creative agency that works with place management organizations to design and activate interactions between local businesses and their community. This week, Izurieta joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss the importance of designing experiences, instead of just buildings, and how loca...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 117
In this episode of Bottom-Up Shorts , host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Julie Emery, one of the leaders of Strong Milwaukee, a Local Conversations group. Emery and her group are helping to make their community stronger by building bus benches. Here’s how they started their program and how it’s evolving. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) . Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!...
Nov 26, 2024•13 min•Ep. 116
Katy Clagett is a commercial real estate appraiser, but at her core, she’s an urban explorer and champion for overlooked spaces. At this year’s National Gathering, she won the Small Bets Competition for her “Flock Party” pitch of reclaiming a neighborhood alley using sheep and goats. Clagett joins this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to talk about the ways bottom-up projects can bring neighbors together and build community, as well as her experience with spearheading this kind of project. AD...
Nov 21, 2024•44 min•Ep. 115
In this episode of Bottom-Up Shorts, host Norm Van Eeden Petersman is joined by Sarah, the leader of Strong Towns Poway/Rancho Bernardo, a Local Conversations group. Sarah and several of her friends teamed up to install bike racks in places that were lacking them. Here’s how they used a really small budget and lots of determination to make something good happen in their community. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) . Do you know someone who would make for a great The Botto...
Nov 19, 2024•12 min•Ep. 114
This Member Week , we’re excited to introduce you to Bottom-Up Shorts, a new collection of 10-minute episodes that we're adding to The Bottom-Up Revolution feed. Each week, Member Advocate Norm Van Eeden Petersman will talk with inspiring guests who are taking action in their community. This week, he’s joined by Manav Sharma, one of the leaders of Strong Towns Vancouver, a Local Conversations group. Sharma and his group were inspired to make their community stronger through the tactical deployme...
Nov 14, 2024•13 min•Ep. 113
Rik Adamski is the founder and president of Ash+Lime, a planning firm that strives to help cities and neighborhoods create thriving places by drawing on the wisdom of the past. Originally from Chicago, Adamski consulted for several of the most prominent planning organizations in the U.S. before moving to Texas and embracing a more nimble, actionable and participatory approach to developing communities. In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution , Adamski joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss...
Oct 31, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 112
Norm Van Eeden Petersman is the director of membership and development at Strong Towns. He regularly writes for Strong Towns on topics including housing, transportation and community building. He also co-leads his area’s Local Conversation, Deltans for People-Oriented Places. In this episode, Petersman joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss his work with Strong Towns and the importance of building community in your place. They also share an exciting update about the future of The Bottom-Up Rev...
Oct 24, 2024•54 min•Ep. 111
Yamini Karandikar is the leader of Strong Towns San Antonio, a Local Conversation in Texas that advocates for safer streets and alternative transportation. Among other efforts, she successfully nominated an intersection in her city for review in the Strong Towns Crash Analysis Studio and is co-hosting a Local-Motive session on improving street safety. Professionally, she works in process improvement strategy within the electric and gas industry. In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Karan...
Oct 17, 2024•42 min•Ep. 110
Jacob Hyman is a civil-site engineer in training and the leader of Strong Towns Steubenville, a Local Conversation in Ohio. Originally from Florida, he moved to Steubenville after serving in the Air Force and started the city's Local Conversation two years later. He works for Crabtree Group, Inc., which provides site engineering services for traditional neighborhood developments and infill development across the country and globe. Today, Hyman joins host Tiffany Owens Reed on The Bottom-Up Revol...
Oct 10, 2024•57 min•Ep. 109
Tiffany Elder is a licensed general contractor, realtor and real estate investor/developer in Durham, North Carolina. She is the owner of Paradigm Construction (a design-build construction firm) and Paradigm Properties (a real estate brokerage firm). She also facilitates real estate ownership and investing seminars for residents. Elder joins this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss her career path, how her various roles intersect, and the challenges and opportunities she’s faced in Du...
Sep 26, 2024•42 min•Ep. 108
Jennifer Krouse is a real estate strategist and the CEO of Liberty House Plans , an architectural publishing house that provides architectural plans for neighborhood-friendly buildings. Previously, she served as a business advisor to real estate developers and a consultant in the field of municipal productivity. She is a member of the National Town Builders Association and holds a BA from Williams College and an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics. Krouse returns in this episode of The Bo...
Sep 19, 2024•44 min•Ep. 107
Paloma Delgadillo is a council member in the city of Broomfield, Colorado. Originally from Texas, Paloma holds a B.A. in economics and a minor in statistics from the University of Chicago undergraduate program. She also earned a master’s degree in analytics from the University of Chicago Graham School. In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution , Delgadillo joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss her efforts to make her city more resilient, including through parking reform. To hear more from D...
Sep 05, 2024•44 min•Ep. 106
Alec Davis is a native of Des Moines, Iowa, with a background in engineering and consulting. In 2018 he left the corporate world to venture out as an entrepreneur, starting a restaurant alongside his brother back home in Des Moines. In 2023, after learning more about zoning and advocacy, he started Momentum Des Moines , an urban advocacy organization. On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Davis joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to talk about Momentum Des Moines’ efforts to build a better city...
Aug 29, 2024•44 min•Ep. 105
Jennifer Krouse is a real estate strategist and the CEO of Liberty House Plans , an architectural publishing house that provides architectural plans for neighborhood-friendly buildings. Previously, she served as a business advisor to real estate developers and a consultant in the field of municipal productivity. She is a member of the National Town Builders Association and holds a BA from Williams College and an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics. On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolut...
Aug 22, 2024•38 min•Ep. 104
Seth Zeren is a a neighborhood developer and founding member of Strong Towns, as well as a self-proclaimed recovering city planner and a writer at the Build the Next Right Thing Substack. A San Francisco native, Zeren now lives with his family in Providence, Rhode Island, where he works as an incremental developer. Zeren returns in this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to talk with host Tiffany Owens Reed about the political side of incremental development and how to deal with issues like bal...
Aug 15, 2024•52 min•Ep. 103
Erik Lowe is the founder of Reimagine Spokane, a grassroots group of citizens who are calling for safer streets and better transit in Spokane, Washington. He's also the designer of the “ Spokane Reimagined ” plan, a $1 billion proposal to improve safety and connectivity in Spokane over 20 years. On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, he joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to talk about transit advocacy and the importance of walkability and safe streets. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local recommendation...
Aug 08, 2024•50 min•Ep. 102
Seth Zeren is a a neighborhood developer and founding member of Strong Towns, as well as a self-proclaimed recovering city planner and a writer at the Build the Next Right Thing Substack. A San Francisco native, Zeren now lives with his family in Providence, Rhode Island, where he works as an incremental developer. On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution , Zeren joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to talk about his path to becoming an incremental developer with a midsize real estate firm, the star...
Jul 25, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 101
Erin Joyce is the mayor of Braintree, Massachusetts. She’s also a professional civil engineer, former chair of her local planning board, former PTO president, youth soccer coach, and mom to three boys. She’s joining host Tiffany Owens Reed today on The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss what it’s like to build strong towns as an elected official, the challenges and opportunities she’s faced, and the importance of community engagement in local government. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Erin Joyce (site). Loc...
Jul 18, 2024•51 min•Ep. 100
Ilana Preuss is the founder and CEO of Recast City , a program that helps cities build strong downtowns by empowering small-scale manufacturers. She is also the author of “Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing.” Previously, she was the vice president and chief of staff at Smart Growth America and led the technical assistance program at the EPA Smart Growth Program. She is a TEDx speaker on, “The Economic Power of Great Places,” and a featured keynote speaker....
Jul 11, 2024•42 min•Ep. 99
Danny Pearlstein is the policy and communications director at Riders Alliance, a nonprofit transit advocacy organization in New York City. With degrees in environmental studies and urban planning from Cornell, a degree in law from Cardozo and a history on the New York City Council, Pearlstein works to ensure every New Yorker has access to frequent, reliable, accessible and affordable public transit. Today, he joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss congestion pricing, car dependency and public ...
Jun 27, 2024•38 min•Ep. 98
In this special episode for Member Week, Tiffany interviews Strong Towns Community Builder John Pattison. Pattison works with advocates in hundreds of communities as they start and lead local Strong Towns groups called Local Conversations. In the interview, they explore how these groups embody the bottom-up nature of the Strong Towns movement, some of the ways Local Conversations have successfully improved their cities, and how becoming a member supports the Local Conversations program. In addit...
Jun 13, 2024•42 min•Ep. 97
In this special edition of The Bottom-Up Revolution , recorded last week at the 2024 National Gathering, we have a double interview with Susan Graham and Ally Smither. Graham and Smither are part of a movement in Houston, Texas, called Stop TxDOT I-45, which is working to prevent a massive highway expansion. Susan is a retired nurse who has lived in Houston for decades and who started the movement after hearing about the Texas Department of Transportation’s plans for her neighborhood. Ally is or...
May 23, 2024•53 min•Ep. 96
Brian Boland is a native of Cincinnati and the founder of Bridge Forward Cincinnati , an advocacy group working to reclaim 19 acres of city land from urban highways. He has a master’s degree in Urban Sustainability and Resilience and 30 years of experience in neighborhood revitalization. In addition to his work with Bridge Forward Cincinnati, Boland is one of the founders of CNU Midwest and a member of Strong Towns. He helped organize this year’s Congress for the New Urbanism, which will be held...
May 09, 2024•47 min•Ep. 95
Christian Gray is a native of Southern California, but now resides in Omaha, Nebraska, with his family, where he is the co-executive director of inCOMMON Community Development , an organization that aims to alleviate poverty at a root level by uniting and strengthening vulnerable neighborhoods. Gray has worked in the field of national and international community development for 16 years, and we’re excited to have him on The Bottom-Up Revolution this week to talk about his community and the work ...
Apr 25, 2024•41 min•Ep. 94
Sara Joy Proppe is a native of Texas, but lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has a degree in urban planning, and has over a decade of professional experience and managing private real estate development projects, as well as leading community placemaking workshops throughout the Midwest. She's the founder and director of Proximity Project , a consultancy that helps churches discover how they can use placemaking to connect with the local community. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Proximity Project (website) ...
Apr 11, 2024•36 min•Ep. 93
Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen is a passionate community organizer in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. With extensive experience in providing reports and educational materials on community and economic development, he has collaborated with organizations such as the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and the Local Initiative Support Corporation, where he currently serves. Beyond his professional commitments, Armando is a dedicated father ...
Mar 28, 2024•40 min•Ep. 92
Maddy Novich is a criminal justice professor at Manhattan College, a mom of three, and an Instagram influencer living in New York City—you might know her as @cargobikemomma . Novich fell in love with cargo biking during a trip with her family to Europe in 2019, and launched an Instagram account when she came back to just share her love of biking around the city and to help other people, especially other women, realize that this mobility option is available to them. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Maddy No...
Mar 14, 2024•44 min•Ep. 91
