5 Transformative Lessons from our Local-Motive Tour Speakers
Our Local-Motive Tour is coming up in just a few short weeks and we’re so excited to share 10 fantastic events—packed full of ideas, insights and tools that will help you make your town stronger this year. Have you snagged your ticket yet?
While you wait for the tour to kick off, we thought we’d let you get to know our guest speakers a little better. Many of them have been part of the Strong Towns movement for a while, so we’ve got a great stock of resources from them to share with you. Here’s a few items to whet your appetite:
Ashwat Narayanan
1. Learn how a Wisconsin group stopped a huge road project… from Ashwat Narayanan.
Watch this video from our 2017 Strong Towns Summit to hear Ashwat Narayanan (former Director of Transportation Policy at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin and current Executive Director of Our Streets Minneapolis) share the story of how he collaborated with fellow citizens and advocates to stop a massive, wasteful road project.
Narayanan is speaking at our February 4 tour stop: “Picking Your Next Bike Lane Battle.”
Derek Avery
2. Explore what revitalization without gentrification looks like… with Derek Avery.
Read this interview with Derek Avery, small-scale developer and founder COIR Holdings, to understand an approach to development that allows for revitalization without excluding those who live in the neighborhood. You can also hear from Avery in this “Ask Strong Towns” webcast from 2019.
Avery is speaking at our February 18 tour stop: “How to Clear the Path for Small-Scale Developers in Your Town.”
Alexander Hagler
3. Hear how one entrepreneur can support a whole community of local business owners… with Alexander Hagler.
Alexander Hagler—an entrepreneur, business owner and farmer—was recently featured on an episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution Podcast, talking about how his local business creates a platform for other business owners to sell their products, and how this whole small business ecosystem makes his community more economically resilient.
Hagler is speaking at our February 25 tour stop: “4 Steps Toward a More Resilient Local Food System.”
Genevieve Barber
4. Find out what it takes to transform an unproductive intersection… from Genevieve Barber.
Neighborhood activist Genevieve Barber wrote a powerful article for Strong Towns last year called “The Corner: What Will It Take for an Unproductive Intersection to Give Rather than Take?” You can also listen to an interview with Barber on our former podcast, It’s the Little Things right here.
Barber is speaking at our March 18 tour stop, “5 Simple Ways to Build a Stronger Neighborhood.”
LeVette Fuller
5. Learn about something better than utopia… from LeVette Fuller.
An essay by LeVette Fuller, city councilor in Shreveport, LA features as the Afterword in our book, Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity. You can also read her essay here.
You’ll catch Fuller speaking at our March 25 tour stop: “You’re Not Alone: How to Find Kindred Spirits and Jumpstart the Strong Towns Conversation Where You Live.”
10 Events. 8 Weeks. All online. All designed to help you take action and build a stronger town or city.
Join us for the Strong Towns Local-Motive Tour.
Cover image via Genevieve Barber.