Scott Jones, co-founder and executive director of We Love Long Beach, discusses the power of simple gestures of hospitality in building deeper connections with neighbors. They delve into the uniqueness of Long Beach, the organization's initiatives to bring neighbors together, the importance of personal invitations, and how building relationships within a neighborhood can lead to problem-solving and resilience.

Aimee and Cody Frederick, café owners and conversation leaders, discuss their radical commitment to their city and their love for hospitality and building community. They share anecdotes about pumpkin spice lattes, relocating to Richmond, and their journey from running a restaurant chain to opening their own café. They talk about stumbling upon an opportunity to open a coffee shop in Richmond and the importance of creating a sense of place in a town. They also address the potential of Richmond, challenges they face, and the need to focus on core principles in creating welcoming communities and magnetic places. Lastly, they explore the impact of local businesses in downtown Richmond and the importance of hospitality in improving cities.

Shelby Wild, executive director of Route One Farmers Market, talks about breaking barriers to local food in California's Lompoc Valley. Topics include increasing access to local food, offering EBT and Market Match, curbside pickup during the pandemic, launching a mobile farmer's market, and the power of strategic alliances.

On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, host Tiffany Owens Reed is joined by Marques King, a licensed architect, practicing urban designer, and small-scale developer operating out of Detroit, Michigan. Originally from Detroit, King returned home after spending a decade in Washington, DC, and now runs a design firm that specializes in incremental development projects. His work is driven by a desire to see a more sustainable future for his city by providing human-scale neighborhoods that are accessible to a wider variety of people across the social-economic spectrum. King also serves as a faculty member of the Incremental Development Alliance and is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Preservation & Planning. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Marques King (Twitter/X). Fabrick (website). Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Check out the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), Islandview Villages, The Red Hook, Marrow, Yum Village, and the Detroit Riverfront. Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

On today’s episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, host Tiffany Owens Reed is joined by Gary Oddi, a longtime resident of Temecula, California, who served in public education as a teacher and administrator before retiring in 2016. A lifelong biker, he founded Bike Temecula Valley in 2020, a nonprofit that advocates for more active transit in his city. Along with his duties as president of Bike Temecula Valley, Oddi is also a substitute administrator for the Temecula Valley Unified School District and the director of the Murrieta Creek Regional Trail Four Cities Planning Team. He also sits on the city of Temecula Services Commission and continues to lead drives and educate the community about active transportation. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Gary Oddi (Twitter/X). Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Bike Temecula Valley (website). Check out Le Coffee, La Bottega, and Temecula Valley Wineries. Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

This week on The Bottom-Up Revolution, host Tiffany Owens Reed talks with Barry Greene Jr., an urban journalist and local advocate from the Southside neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. After spending time in Brooklyn and Charlotte, Greene returned to Richmond earlier this year and launched his Substack, Density Dad. On Greene’s blog, he draws on his experience as a husband and father to write about city and urban design issues in an accessible manner, and also advocates for urban design that’s friendly to families, children, and seniors. In addition to working full-time as a fundraising and grants manager for an environmental nonprofit, he also serves on the board of Virginia Rapid Transit and the Partnership for Smarter Growth. Today, Greene talks with us about his work with advocacy and his success as a small business owner. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Barry Greene Jr. (Twitter). Density Dad (Website). Check out Urban Hang Suite, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge, and Shades of Moss (Greene’s own local business!).  Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Noah Tang, high school history teacher in Bloomington, Illinois, discovered the power of small steps when he invited a few friends over to discuss the city's housing issues. From that initial gathering, a Local Conversation movement was sparked that led to the city unanimously changing its zoning code. This change allows residents more flexibility to adapt to housing needs and build additional housing units (ADUs) on their property. In this episode of the Bottom-Up Revolution podcast, host Tiffany Owens Reed catches up with Tang. They talk about why he chose to get involved in local government, his recent trip to the Netherlands, and how things are progressing in Bloomington. This episode follows Strong Towns' coverage of the Local Conversation Bloomington Revivalists' journey for change earlier this year. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Noah Tang (Twitter). “History Teacher Steps Up and Starts the Conversation for Change in Bloomington, Illinois,” by Seairra Sheppard, Strong Towns (February 2023). Learn more about starting your own Local Conversation. Check out Bloomington's Farmers Market, McLean County’s History Museum, Epiphany Farms Restaurant, and Coffee Hound Cafe.  Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

Who are the people working to make their places stronger?  On this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, host Tiffany Owens Reed interviews LeVette Fuller. Fuller was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, and has served for four years on the city council, ran for mayor, and is now working in real estate. She’s taken part in many projects pointed toward creating a stronger, more adaptable city, including Reform Shreveport, which hosts a Fiscal Impact Analysis conducted by Urban3 on their site, as well as a portal for citizens to inform the city of local needs.  Tune in to this episode and hear Fuller talk about Shreveport, its unique history, and how she’s bringing new ideas to the city. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES LeVette Fuller (Twitter). Reform Shreveport (Website). Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Check out Vinyl Coffee, Herby K’s, Southern Maid Donuts, the R.W. Norton Art Gallery Botanical Gardens, and Sweetport Ice Cream! Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here! Support this podcast by becoming a Strong Towns member today.

After taking a hiatus for her maternity leave, Rachel Quednau is back with a new episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, where she's introducing Tiffany Owens Reed, who will soon be our new host for the podcast. Those of you who have been around here for a while may recognize Tiffany as one of our regular writers and a previous guest on this very podcast, as well as a featured speaker in many of our workshops and events—including, most recently, the National Gathering. She's also a member of our advisory board, and, in general, has been involved with Strong Towns for many years. We're so excited to welcome Tiffany to The Bottom-Up Revolution. We invite you to get to know her in this episode and look forward to hearing more from her in the coming weeks! ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Read Strong Towns articles by Tiffany. Check out Tiffany’s previous appearance on The Bottom-Up Revolution. Read more of Tiffany’s writing at Cities Decoded. “Patterns, Placemaking, and People: 3 Questions for Observing Your City,” by Tiffany Owens Reed, Strong Towns (June 2023). Learn the 4-Step Process for Public Investment from Tiffany over at the Strong Towns Academy. Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here! Support this podcast by becoming a Strong Towns member today.

While Rachel is on maternity leave, we’re re-running some of our best and most popular episodes of The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast. This episode, which we published in May of 2021, came to us because Strong Towns Community Builder John Pattison is friends with the guest, Coté Soerens and her husband, Tim. In the podcast you’re about to hear, the focus is on a wonderful neighborhood coffee shop that Soerens opened to be a gathering place in her community of South Park in Seattle. But we’ve been thinking about this episode recently because John also let us know that Coté and Tim have been leading an effort called Reconnect South Park to tear down a harmful highway that cuts through the neighborhood. Soeren’s coffee shop, Resistencia, has served as a convening space for advocates working on this issue, a perfect example of how a neighborhood café can create so much benefit for a city—not just in providing jobs, providing local goods, activating a storefront—but also in being a “third space” where people can get together and work on making their city stronger. If you want to learn more about how to get involved in stopping wasteful highways in your city, check out our End Highway Expansion campaign. Additional Show Notes Resistencia website. Reconnect South Park website. Visit the End Highway Expansion campaign page. Strong Towns articles on gentrification. Urban Fresh Food Collective. Support this podcast by becoming a Strong Towns member today.