You Know the Problem. Be Part of the Solution.

Alexander Hagler, from Episode 1 of the Bottom-Up Revolution podcast.

Over the last couple months, I’ve had the privilege of hosting our new podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, and I have to tell you, I’ve been floored by the stories I get to hear and share with you all every week.  We’ve only posted five episodes so far—each a powerful testament to the Strong Towns movement in action—and I know there are hundreds more stories out there.

The Strong Towns movement is full of people like you who dream of more financially resilient communities where every resident can thrive. You know the problem: a development pattern that squanders our resources instead of making the best use of them. And you know the solution: A shift toward more thoughtful ways of planning our communities’ futures that focus on incremental, bottom-up action instead of top-down projects.

But how do you get from the problem to the solution? If you’re like many in the Strong Towns audience, this is where things get tough. It can feel like you’re an island in a sea of people who are fine with the status quo and who can’t envision a different path.

But you’re not actually alone.  You’re part of a movement of people from all 50 states, many Canadian provinces and a dozen other countries.  It’s a groundswell of people in small towns, midsize suburbs and big cities, who all see the economic challenges facing their communities and believe in a path forward.  Strong Towns is a gathering of college students and senior citizens; parents, city councilors, business owners and neighbors.  It’s a collection of thousands of people who care about building more resilient places.

Now the task that lies before us is helping this amazing movement of people take action to transform their places into stronger towns. That process is beginning to happen. But we want to do so much more to help you on your journey:

Chelsea Lawson, from Episode 3 of the Bottom-Up Revolution podcast.

• We dream of creating a hub where you can connect with fellow Strong Towns advocates who are struggling with similar challenges in their place, a place where you can get support and inspiration.

• We envision a platform where you can ask questions of our team and other Strong Towns experts, and get the answers you need to make your community thrive.  

• We want to help you meet your neighbors and get together to start advocating for change on a bigger scale.  

• We plan to create lots of tools and resources that will help guide you on your journey toward a stronger town.  

• We want to visit more communities and share the Strong Towns message—especially the ones without big speaking budgets. 

• We want to feature more inspiring stories from people like you doing great things in your cities.

• We want to hire a full-time staffer to focus on these efforts. 

We dream of all of these different ways we can support you in creating stronger towns…

And we need your help to make that happen. Become a member today.

We’re so glad to provide stories, podcasts, classes, webcasts, and many more tools—completely free of charge to you.  And we want to keep that the case—particularly for those who can’t afford to pay the kinds of prices these resources normally cost.  But if you’re someone who can afford to support this work, please step up and do it.

Be part of creating the next 100… 500… 10,000 stories of people making their towns stronger across the continent.

Cover image of Alexander Hagler via OnMilwaukee.

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