Beating the Loneliness Epidemic, One Step at a Time

Beating the Loneliness Epidemic, One Step at a Time

Author: Strong Towns August 7, 2025 Duration: 1:02:37
Adult friendships are difficult. A big part of that is our built environment, which is often designed in a way that stifles social connection instead of supporting it. Kat Vellos is an author, facilitator, and connection coach who’s working to change that. She and Tiffany discuss the importance of community building, ways to redesign our built environment, and other steps residents and local leaders can take to help their community thrive. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Jack London Square Oakland's Grand Lake Farmer's Market See more from Kat: We Should Get Together (site) “We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships” (book) 1-on-1 coaching Platonic Action Lab (course) Downloadable tools: Better than Small Talk and the Better Conversations Kit 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. Click here to learn more about membership.

There’s a quiet shift happening in neighborhoods and city halls across the continent, a push to rethink what makes a place thrive. The Bottom-Up Revolution, from the team at Strong Towns and hosted by Tiffany Owens Reed, dives into that shift by sharing real stories from within the movement. Instead of grand top-down plans, this podcast focuses on the tangible, often overlooked work of everyday people who are rolling up their sleeves to foster economic resilience right where they live. Each conversation explores the practicalities-how someone identified a small, solvable problem in their community, the steps they took to rally their neighbors, and the challenges they faced turning an idea into reality. You’ll hear about the messiness of local advocacy, the importance of building connections to create lasting influence, and the personal lessons learned along the path to a stronger town. It’s a resource for anyone who believes change starts on their own street, offering not just inspiration but a sense of shared struggle and possibility. Tune in for a candid look at the grassroots work that’s quietly reshaping our cities and towns, one concrete action at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Bottom-Up Revolution
Podcast Episodes
How To Design Urban Places That People Love [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:39
Why do some places make us want to stay forever while others repel us? In honor of Member Week, we're bringing back a great episode with architect Will McCollum. He explores the timeless principles of urbanism, why we ne…
What 50 Interviews Taught Me About Community Action [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:27
Strong Towns members are doing remarkable things in their communities, but none of it requires magic abilities. Norm shares what he's learned from 50 interviews — and explains how you can get involved. Additional Show No…
How to Talk About Street Safety So People Actually Listen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:35
Many cities will greenlight a billion-dollar highway but struggle to paint a crosswalk. Liza Burkin has spent 12 years changing that through advocacy, private consulting, and federal policymaking. The founder of Providen…
How to Turn Small Community Actions Into a Big Impact [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:22
Dr. Shakeel Dalal builds spaceships for a living, and he never planned to run for mayor of Longmont, Colorado. He just kept doing the next small thing that made sense. That led him from writing about city council meeting…
How To Convince Your City To Embrace Tactical Urbanism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:09
What if you could change a dangerous street today instead of waiting 10 years? Isaac Gonzalez founded the advocacy group Slow Down Sacramento to prove that you can. Two years later, the group has helped transform Sacrame…
How To Reclaim Dignity and Safety for Nondrivers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:09
McKenzie Ortiz is the founder of Pedestrian Pride, a digital storytelling project that uplifts the realities of life for working-class people who can't drive. She also serves on the Planning and Zoning Commission in Colu…
How To Run for Office at 24 — and Win Support [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:34
Sam Foster is an engineer, Local Conversation leader, and mayoral candidate in Marietta, Georgia. He joins Norm to talk about why he's running for office at 24 years old, how he uses social media to educate the public, a…
How To Make Starting a Small Business Easy and Cheap [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:48
Zoe Tishaev and Dylan DelliSanti work for the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit, public interest law firm. As part of the Cities Work program, they partner with cities to make it cheaper, faster and simpler to start sma…
How One Bus Driver Is Inspiring Safer Streets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:13
Tyler Moldovan is a bus driver, urban advocate, and community organizer in Port Huron, Michigan. Today, he joins Norm to share how his work in transit, street safety, and local arts is helping to build a safer and more c…
How To Fight a Highway Project — and Actually Win [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:59
Kyle and Beverly Greenwood brought together nearly 2,000 residents to stop a proposed highway in Brazos County, Texas. What began with a single flyer turned into a community victory that protected historic ranches and ho…