The Bottom-Up Revolution

Mark Nowotarski, a civic advocate from Jasper, Indiana who led local organizing against the Mid‑States Corridor. He recounts six years of grassroots resistance to a proposed 54‑mile, $3.4 billion highway. Short scenes cover yard signs, town halls, polling, local impacts on roads and emergency access, and how persistence and alliances shifted power against a mega-project.

In an era of quick, generic construction, Austin Tunnell makes the case for caring about beauty and craft. He shares lessons from masonry, small‑scale development, and his own projects on creating places people actually enjoy using every day. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations:‍ Wheeler District Clarity Coffee Taco Nation Akai Sushi The Building Culture Podcast (site) Building Culture (site) Townsend 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. Thank you!

Discover how Denton mom and civic advocate Lauren Penn turned her front yard into a thriving micro market for local makers and families, all without a big budget. She shares what it took, from permits and vendors to a rainy launch day, and how a small, homegrown experiment can help knit a neighborhood together. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES P‍op-Up Market Makers (Instagram) Pop-Up Market Makers (Site) Stronger Denton 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!

Jeremiah Vaya, a Strong Towns PDX leader using GIS to model redevelopment and municipal finance, and Sam Callen, a volunteer leader and housing-focused urban designer who analyzes land use with GIS. They map vacant lots, model road and pipe costs, estimate tax gains from removing a downtown highway, and propose a vacancy fee to nudge redevelopment.

Aaron Caldwell, an assistant professor of biostatistics and part-time small-scale developer in Fayetteville, uses data tools to decode municipal finances. He discusses applying public-health data skills to city budgets. He explains the Finance Decoder and its metrics. He also recounts a South Fayetteville infill project and why he chose Fayetteville as home.

Macy Miller, tiny-house designer, builder, and longtime movable-home dweller, turned a DIY tiny house into a life of lower costs and more freedom. She talks about building and design choices, navigating code enforcement, leading Boise’s pilot and ordinance change, and national efforts to fit movable tiny homes into building codes. Short, practical stories about policy, craft, and expanding housing options.

Abigail Hoiland, founder of Stop Umbrella and pedestrian-safety advocate, turned a heartbreaking crash into a visible, quirky tool for safer streets. She explains how the umbrella concept started, became a product, and sparked community outreach. Short, inventive actions that make people walking impossible to ignore.

Andrew Mikula is leading a grassroots campaign to put affordable housing on the Massachusetts ballot in 2026. The initiative would legalize single-family homes on smaller lots. Today, he shares how he's building a broad coalition — from bankers to housing advocates — to make incremental, family-oriented housing reform possible. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Connect with Legalize Starter Homes Site Facebook Instagram Read more: "Why Are Developers Only Building Luxury Housing?" by Daniel Herriges "Our Self-Imposed Scarcity of Nice Places" by Daniel Herriges ‍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!

Columbia, South Carolina, is the 12th deadliest metro for pedestrians in America. Columbia resident Regan Freeman is working to change that, as the director of a statewide pedestrian and bicycle safety nonprofit. Regan explains how he’s making progress despite the challenges — by meeting people where they are, showing what’s possible, and working both locally and at the state level. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Indah Coffee Farmer’s Market XChange Cola Town Bikes Palmetto Bike Walk People for Bikes Feature 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!

Most city apartments are designed for roommates, not families with babies. Bobby Fijan, co-founder of The American Housing Corporation, explains how floor plans force parents out of cities — and how to help young families stay in the neighborhoods they love. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Rival Bros Coffee (site) The American Housing Corporation (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. Thank you!