A few years back, we published an op-ed from a Strong Towns reader who was fighting a proposed highway project in San Jose, California, near his child’s school—mere yards away, to be exact.
The highway expansion would make a key crossing—where hundreds of children and parents walked to the school building every day—extremely dangerous. It would also bring noise and pollution into kids’ classrooms, strip recreational land away from the school, and, as with every highway expansion project, cost taxpayers millions of dollars to implement. The justification for the project from the DOT was basically: We planned for this a few decades ago and we finally got the funding, so let’s build it.
Today’s guest is the author of that initial op-ed and a leading community activist in the fight against the project. Robin Roemer got in touch with us a little while ago to say that, after a four-year battle, he and his neighbors had finally succeeded in getting the city council to vote unanimously against the project. You’re about to hear his story of persistence, of bringing neighbors together to show that they have power over the future of their community and they don’t have to accept a harmful project being handed down from on high.
Roemer has helpful advice for any community organizing effort, too: give people the facts and voice to help them make decisions for themselves, use peoples’ energy wisely, pace yourself for long-term efforts, and, also, you don’t have to participate in government processes that are rigged against you. He’s got a great story about not showing up for a city council meeting but instead, arranging a separate meeting for the community that would actually allow them to attend and voice their concerns. We’ll let him tell the rest…
Additional Show Notes“A Literal Bridge From the Future to the Past,” by Robin Roemer (Strong Towns, October 2018).
“After a fierce fight, San Jose abandons ‘extremely dangerous’ overpass project,” by Maggie Angst (The Mercury News, February 2022).
California Walks website.
Send your story ideas to rachel@strongtowns.org.
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The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…a City Council Supporting Parking Reform
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Making a Difference With Local Government
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Helping Incremental Developers Make Better Places
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Fighting the Housing Crisis as an Incremental Developer Part 2
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Advocating for Better Transit and Safe Streets
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Fighting the Housing Crisis as an Incremental Developer Part 1
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Becoming a Member of Local Government
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…City Building With Small-Scale Manufacturers
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Fighting for Better Public Transit in the Big Apple
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Helping Local Advocates Improve Their Cities
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Unexpected Allies Fighting a Highway Expansion Project
Brian Boland: Reclaiming Land From Urban Highways
Christian Gray: Alleviating Neighborhood Poverty at a Root Level
Sara Joy Proppe: Helping Churches Use Placemaking To Connect With the Community
Armando Moritz-Chapelliquen: A Grassroots Community Advocate
Maddy Novich: Not Your Typical Bike Activist!
Deatra Kemp: Helping First-Time Homebuyers Realize Their Dreams
Adam Greenfield and Miriam Schoenfield: Fighting Freeway Widening in Austin
Jessica Peacock: Fighting for a Family-Owned Grocery Store
Jon Jon Wesolowski: Chattanooga Urbanist Society
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