# Why City Hall Is So Hard to Navigate

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bottom-up-revolution-515360/why-city-hall-is-so-hard-to-navigate
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bottom-up-revolution-515360/why-city-hall-is-so-hard-to-navigate.md
Podcast: [The Bottom-Up Revolution](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bottom-up-revolution-515360)
Published: 2026-07-28T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://littlethings.strongtowns.org/e/why-city-hall-is-so-hard-to-navigate/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/gxm7vruy4a39eh42/BUS_7-28-26.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bottom-up-revolution-515360/episodes/why-city-hall-is-so-hard-to-navigate
Duration seconds: 1077

## Resource

Residents are often told to get involved at City Hall, but first they have to figure out where to go, who has authority, and which committee will actually hear them. Jacob Hyman learned that firsthand when his attempt to advocate for multimodal transportation turned into a frustrating tour of local government. As a civil engineer and leader of Strong Towns Steubenville, he helped build a power map showing the officials, boards, departments, and relationships behind city decisions, giving residents a clearer route into a system that had been difficult even to describe. Hyman will also be a speaker at the Civic Leader Summit in Pensacola, Florida, from October 6–8, where he’ll lead a session on building power maps for local communities, and early-bird tickets are available now. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Jacob Hyman (LinkedIn) Strong Towns Steubenville (Site) Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) 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.

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## Transcript

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