Where Did the Village Go?

Where Did the Village Go?

Author: Strong Towns July 16, 2026 Duration: 51:43
Modern family life offers mothers an endless supply of services meant to make isolation more manageable, but Lauren Penn began wondering why so much support had to be purchased in the first place. After a violent crash near the crosswalk her children use to get to school pushed her into local activism, she began connecting unsafe streets and missing sidewalks to the exhaustion many mothers experience while coordinating transportation, childcare and social life largely on their own. Lauren shares how books, advocacy and small experiments with her daughters changed what she thought a neighborhood could provide. A place can either force every need into another private transaction or make room for families to help one another. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Lauren Penn (LinkedIn) Stronger Denton (Site) Stronger Neighborhoods (Site) Pop-Up Market Makers How One Front Yard Became a Neighborhood Pop Up (Bottom-Up Short) 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.

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: 50

The Bottom-Up Revolution
Podcast Episodes
Spokane, Washington Is Betting on Buses, Benches, and Fourplexes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:10
Before the car took over, Spokane, Washington ran an extensive streetcar network that shaped its neighborhoods. Sarah Rose and Erik Lowe of Spokane Reimagined are working to recover that spirit through a bus system that…
When a Tornado Hit Main Street [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:29
On March 14, 2025, an EF3 tornado hit Cave City, Arkansas, directly, something the town of about 2,000 people had never experienced in more than a century. Mayor Jonas Anderson describes the shock of that night and the n…
The Missing Middle Has a Missing Industry [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:35
Alkarim Devani has built over 1,000 homes in Calgary — fourplexes, row houses, a 212-unit heritage restoration — and noticed something strange: people kept asking about the small projects. That observation turned into a…
Rerun: Breaking Down Barriers to Local Food [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:58
It’s farmers market season, so we’re revisiting this conversation with Shelby Wild, whose work in Lompoc shows how a weekly neighborhood market can reshape a community’s food system. This rerun highlights the deep local…
Walk Your Neighborhood Like Jane Jacobs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:15
In Portland’s Hollywood district, a neighbor-led walk inspired by Jane Jacobs helps people see a familiar street in a new way. Strong Towns PDX organizer Natalie Legras shares how she pulled together a low-key neighborho…
Can Safer Streets Start With a Video Game? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:57
A traffic jam in a video game changed how Bryan Kelly saw his city. He traces the path from playing City Skylines and watching Not Just Bikes to noticing stroads, long waits at traffic lights, and people biking on sidewa…
Lancaster’s Locals, Newcomers, and Streets Working Together [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:09
Strong Towns organizer Nick Dennis shares how, once he hosted a simple meetup, he discovered a whole network of already active people in Lancaster, Pennsylvania who just needed a way to connect their efforts. He and Norm…
Why Public Spaces Fail After the Ribbon Cutting [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:33
Well-designed public spaces often look promising at opening, then slowly lose energy and use. Max Musicant explains how that decline comes down to what happens after construction—who maintains the space, how it’s program…
Ohio’s Traffic Granny Takes On Dangerous Neighborhood Streets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:31
Barbara Didrichsen, known locally as “Traffic Granny,” describes how everyday walks filled with close calls in her Pleasant Ridge neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio pushed her to start documenting crashes and traffic probl…
Rethinking New Neighborhoods Between Big Plans And Incremental Change [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:30
Using Woodbury in Moscow, Idaho as a case study, this conversation digs into how one master-planned neighborhood pursues walkability, mixed use, and everyday community life on the edge of a small town. Builder Levi Wintz…