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Artwork for The Bottom-Up Revolution

The Bottom-Up Revolution

Strong Towns
Strong Towns
Community Engagement
Urban Planning
Community Development
Affordable Housing
Strong Towns Movement
Urbanism
Urban Design
Housing Crisis
Walkability
Local Government
Community Advocacy
Public Transit
Architecture
Transportation
Public Transportation
Local Conversations
Zoning Reform
Housing
Transportation Planning

The Bottom-Up Revolution features the stories of the Strong Towns movement in action. Hosted by Tiffany Owens Reed and Norm Van Eeden Petersman, 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... more

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes100Founded8 years ago
Number of ListenersCategory
Society & Culture

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Artwork for The Bottom-Up Revolution

Latest Episodes

Fourteen years ago, Lindsey Meek found something in Strong Towns that helped make sense of her own experience designing subdivisions. A civil engineer by training and one of the movement's founding members, she's watched its ideas spread far beyond t... more

What if a coffee truck could work with just a handful of customers in a neighborhood each morning? Juan Sanchez created Coffee in Your Community, a business built around serving small groups of customers in the same Raleigh-area neighborhoods every w... more

A haunted apartment might sound terrifying, but what if the rent is too good to pass up? Filmmaker Allan Piper turned that idea into Evil Sublet, a horror comedy about a couple willing to live with ghosts for an affordable home. His next film, Highwa... more

Massachusetts needs more housing, but getting permission to build it can take years, even when the zoning allows it. Housing advocate and researcher Jonathan Berk examined six projects for his report, Delayed by Design, to understand why so many hous... more

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Recent Guests

Allan Piper
Filmmaker and media strategist behind Evil Sublet and Highway Gothic
Episode: What Horror Movies Reveal About Our Cities
Jonathan Berk
Housing advocate and researcher, founder of re:MAIN and co-founder and board chair of Abundant Housing Massachusetts
Abundant Housing Massachusetts
Episode: Why Changing Zoning Laws Isn't Enough
Sully Israel
Leader of Strong Towns Santa Barbara and co-author of a report on traffic and housing
Strong Towns Santa Barbara
Episode: The $96 Million Plan for Nine Blocks
Samira Reyes
Ecuadorian-born physician and creator of Samira Unscripted
Samira Unscripted
Episode: The Experiment to Meet People Next Door
Nick Shrag
Video game programmer and board-game designer
Episode: Can You Run a Town in This Board Game?
Andy Dragt
Founder of Firefly Tiny Homes, Strong Towns advocate in Spartanburg, SC
Firefly Tiny Homes
Episode: What If a House Took Five Weeks to Build?
Kim Mitchell
Planner and architect, advocate in Allendale
Institute for Community Renewal / Allendale Strong
Episode: A Highway Fight Built on Learning and Doing
Sheridan Harris
Memphis-based mom and pedestrian safety advocate who survived a hit-and-run in 2023
Memphis safety advocate
Episode: Why Are Memphis Streets So Dangerous?
Margaret Allen
Member of Strong Des Moines, local conversation group
Strong Des Moines / Strong Towns
Episode: What If Getting Involved Locally Was Actually Fun?

Hosts

Tiffany Owens Reed
Host focusing on community-led urbanism and practical action in neighborhoods
Norm Van Eeden Petersman
Co-host with focus on connecting grassroots actions to strategic urban advocacy

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 150 ratings
  • Ad placement is unaccountably disruptive

    Always ironic to have someone mid-sentence on the importance of thoughtful design in the physical world only to be cut off entirely without warning for a strongtowns event ad, sich that one has no idea what the thought was by the time the podcast resumes. Please work on the design of the podcast itself. Five stars to support the work.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Jo mama 2277
    United States6 months ago
  • A+

    New host is fantastic!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    MonkeysInACan
    United States3 years ago
  • Great Podcast

    This podcast is super inspiring. Rachel is a fantastic interviewer, and the range of guests are fascinating.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    CateAVL
    United States4 years ago
  • More Personal Dive into Strong Towns

    Loving the format and the stories from people active in their communities.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Mdelesd1
    United States4 years ago
  • Such interesting comments conversations about grass roots projects

    Fascinating ground-up projects in so many communities. I’ve started following the work of several interviewees because the conversations were so compelling. Locally based projects can take so many forms!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    listeninglou
    United States5 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners value actionable takeaways and local impact stories.
Engaging interviews with a range of inspiring guests.
Guests are well-aligned with hands-on urbanism and civic participation.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Why Changing Zoning Laws Isn't Enough
Q: Could you maybe share an example of one of the recommendations that you had or maybe one or two examples of something that the state could be doing to help solve this problem?
Berk recommends setting guardrails on what planning boards may require, accounting for housing needs in historic reviews, and creating a technically informed appeals process so developers can challenge conditions without immediately suing.
Why Changing Zoning Laws Isn't Enough
Q: Could you tell us a bit of the back story, maybe some of the context behind how you got the idea for this report, and then we can talk about some of the main takeaways?
Berk says he and Luke Schuster of Boston Indicators recognized that Massachusetts housing discussions focused heavily on zoning while archaic permitting processes also impeded construction. They began examining how permitting works and how it delays modest infill housing, adding costs and uncertainty.
What Horror Movies Reveal About Our Cities
Q: What is a core piece of advice that you would give to people that want to use media, especially on the shorts and some of the areas in which it's just trying to break through people's attention span or claim some of their attention in order to share a message?
Piper recommends centering the human story rather than relying only on facts and data. He says communicators can make ideas resonate by showing how a policy affects an identifiable person.
What Horror Movies Reveal About Our Cities
Q: Just share a little bit more about the way in which these sets have come to you and you've used these opportunities to tell a story.
Piper explains that Evil Sublet grew from the idea of people accepting the danger of a haunted apartment for affordable rent, while Highway Gothic came from his experience being stuck in a traffic jam. Both use horror to explore how people feel trapped in everyday situations.
The Experiment to Meet People Next Door
Q: Can you tell us about what you're working on now?
Reyes is running a four-week experiment with 313 participants grouped into smaller pods by location and time zone. Participants will distribute an invitation to neighbors, observe responses and try asking for a small favor. She wants to learn whether the groups improve follow-through and whether outcomes differ by housing type or culture.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About The Bottom-Up Revolution

What is The Bottom-Up Revolution about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show spotlights practical, bottom-up urbanism and community-driven strategies for healthier towns. Across episodes, listeners hear first-hand accounts of neighbors, organizers, and local officials applying Small-scale, incrementally useful tactics—like courtyard block housing, front-yard markets, tactical urbanism, and open-data led civic participation—to improve walkability, housing affordability, and public life. Guests often share real-world workflows for building local coalitions, navigating zoning or regulatory hurdles, and mobilizing residents to reclaim streets, sidewalks, and public spaces. A standout throughline is the emphasis on accessible, place-based action that can scale from micro-projects to broader policy change, with a... more

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Which podcasts are similar to The Bottom-Up Revolution?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Bottom-Up Revolution:

1. The Strong Towns Podcast
2. Upzoned
3. The War on Cars
4. The Urbanist Agenda
5. The Messy City Podcast

How many episodes of The Bottom-Up Revolution are there?

The Bottom-Up Revolution launched 8 years ago and published 100 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on The Bottom-Up Revolution?

Recent guests on The Bottom-Up Revolution include:

1. Allan Piper
2. Jonathan Berk
3. Sully Israel
4. Samira Reyes
5. Nick Shrag
6. Andy Dragt
7. Kim Mitchell
8. Sheridan Harris

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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