Behind the Scenes at the Strong Towns National Gathering

 

At the end of May, Strong Towns hosted its inaugural National Gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a two-day event packed with different speakers and sessions, where we heard from Strong Towns members about how they’re making incremental housing possible in their communities, how highways are destructive and how people are fighting expansions, how the property tax system is broken and what we can do about it, and so much more. In this Upzoned episode, host Abby Kinney goes behind the scenes with Strong Towns staffers Norm Van Eeden Petersman and Rachel Quednau. They chat about how the National Gathering came together, a few lessons learned, and some possible changes for future gatherings.

 
 
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Abby Newsham
Abby Newsham

Abby Newsham is the cohost of the Upzoned podcast. Abby is an urban design and planning consultant at Multistudio in Kansas City, Missouri. In her own community, she works to advance bottom-up strategies that enhance both private development and the public realm, and facilitates the ad-hoc Kansas City chapter of the Incremental Development Alliance. When she’s not geeking out over cities, Abby is an avid urban mountain biker (because: potholes), audiobook and podcast junkie, amateur rock climber, and guitarist. You can connect with Abby on Twitter at @abbykatkc.

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Norm Van Eeden Petersman
Norm Van Eeden Petersman

Norm Van Eeden Petersman is the Director of Membership at Strong Towns. He is a skilled communicator of the Strong Towns message and a community builder. He leads DelPOP, a land use reform and housing advocacy group in Delta, British Columbia, and is a leader of the Strong Towns Toastmasters Club.

Norm has a Master of Divinity and a Bachelor in Political Studies. He spent 10 years pastoring churches in Canada as a preacher, teacher, and leader. He worked in communications for the second-largest city in British Columbia and carried out infrastructure-related stakeholder outreach for Canada's Minister of Health and Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario in Ottawa, ON.

Norm has published articles on housing, transportation, faith, and culture and his writing appears regularly on the Strong Towns site. You can connect with him on Twitter at @normvep or on LinkedIn.

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Rachel Quednau
Rachel Quednau

Rachel Quednau serves as Director of Movement Building at Strong Towns. Trained in dialogue facilitation and mediation, she is devoted to building understanding across lines of difference. Rachel has served in several different positions with Strong Towns over the years, as well as worked for local and federal housing organizations. A native Minnesotan and honorary Wisconsinite, Rachel attend Whitman College for her undergraduate and received a Masters in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Harvard Divinity School. She currently lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her husband and two young children. One of her favorite ways to get to know a new city is by going for a walk in it.

 
Podcast, Top StoryStrong Townspodcast, National Gathering, upzoned