The Bottom-Up Revolution

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.

The Bottom-Up Revolution is a society podcast hosted by Strong Towns, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Strong Towns hosts The Bottom-Up Revolution, a society show with 100 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #289

  Why Are Memphis Streets So Dangerous?

  Oct 1, 202639 min

  Memphis is the deadliest metro area in the country for people walking, with 5.5 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents. Sheridan Harris nearly lost her life in a hit-and-run while training for a triathlon three years ago, and she is still working toward getting back to the riding she loved before the crash. Since then, she has become part of My Green Line Project, which is collecting firsthand accounts from dangerous crossings across Memphis, including places residents say have needed attention for years. Her own intersection still has not been changed, but My Green Line Project keeps doing the work anyway, gathering residents’ stories and pressing for safer crossings whether officials recognize the problem or not. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Sheridan Harris (LinkedIn) Local Recommendations: ‍ Novel Muddy's Bake Shop Whitney Winkler Art Studio & Shop Blue Suede Vintage 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! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons .

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  Episode #288

  What If Getting Involved Locally Was Actually Fun?

  Sep 29, 202619 min

  Getting involved in your city doesn’t have to feel like homework. Margaret Allen works at a bank and is part of Strong Des Moines, where meetings feel less like formal civic duty and more like a group of people genuinely excited about figuring things out together. That atmosphere has pulled her deeper into city budgets, council meetings, and conversations she once would have tuned out. It has also made the group more willing to borrow good ideas from elsewhere, including Strong Towns Chicago’s improv series, as they find their own ways to make local issues easier to talk about and more fun to be part of. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong Towns Des Moines ( Site , Instagram , LinkedIn ) Find a Local Conversation near you (Site) 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! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons .

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  Episode #287

  The ADUs Built for Multigenerational Living

  Sep 24, 202644 min

  A small house in the backyard can solve a housing problem that changes several times over the life of a family. It might first give an aging parent a place nearby, then become a home for an adult child, a rental, or eventually a place for the homeowners themselves. Bradley Jones, founder of Tiny Homes of Tucson, has seen that flexibility become one of the biggest reasons families decide to build ADUs. In central Tucson, many older homes sit on deep lots with little more than dirt, a cactus, and room to spare, which gives families a chance to turn unused backyard space into housing that can keep adapting as their needs change. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Bradley Jones (LinkedIn) Tiny Homes of Tucson ( Site , Instagram , YouTube ) Local Recommendations: ‍ Saguaro National Park Mount Lemmon Desert Museum Tombstone Amelia's Wildflower 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! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons .

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  Episode #286

  New Zealand’s Urban Nerds Start at the Pub

  Sep 22, 202620 min

  Daniel Basubas thought New Zealand would feel very different from the sprawling Southern California communities where he grew up. Instead, he found many of the same development patterns and many of the same arguments over parking, bike lanes, and who streets are for. In Dunedin, he now helps lead the Urbanerds Ōtepoti Dunedin, a Strong Towns Local Conversation that meets at the local pub. The group gives people a low-pressure way to talk through those issues, meet others who care about the city, and get more comfortable participating in local decisions, whether that means commenting on a council plan or speaking at a public meeting. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Daniel Basubas (LinkedIn) Urbanerds Ōtepoti Dunedin (Site) Find a Local Conversation near you (Site) 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! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons .

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  Episode #285

  What If Vacant Lots Became Farms?

  Sep 17, 202644 min

  A lot in Fairfax, Virginia, sat empty for 25 years, long enough that neighbors barely noticed it anymore. Oren Falkowitz, founder of Area 2 Farms, sees places like that as potential farms. He joins urban planner Jeffery Tompkins to talk about bringing food production back into neighborhoods using vacant lots, overlooked buildings, and other spaces conventional development often passes over. Their Urban Farms Toolkit tackles one of the biggest obstacles: zoning rules written for a very different kind of agriculture. For vacant parcels that may never attract conventional development, a farm can give the land a role in the neighborhood again. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Oren Falkowitz (LinkedIn), Area 2 Farms (Site) Jeffery Tompkins (LinkedIn), Proformus (Site), Thinking Big By Thinking Small (Substack) Urban Farms Toolkit (Site) Local Recommendations: ‍ Natural State Provisions Wonderland Books 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! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons .

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