Director of Planning and Communications at the Street Collective and HealthConnect Fellow
(October 2019-June 2021)
Increasing physical activity and promoting safer streets through changes to the built environment that not just support, but encourage walking, biking, and rolling as a part of daily life
The challenges created by the pandemic led Mike Armstrong to focus his campaign more narrowly on increasing the City of Des Moines budget for filling sidewalk gaps. His team at the Street Collective recognized that grassroots advocacy would be difficult in a virtual environment and focused instead on grasstops advocacy by engaging key stakeholders, like the AARP, to promote its message. In meetings with council members and staff, advocates nudged the city toward its MoveDSM transportation plan, with the goal of increasing the budget to shorten the time it would take to complete the plan.
Time for reflection and skill-building during the fellowship also helped Armstrong consider additional tactics. Long-term, he aspires to shift advocacy efforts from project-specific goals to changing mindsets among city staff so that design projects and policies naturally prioritize health.
Even during a challenging year, Armstrong saw several successes. Most notably, conversations about safe streets that encourage walking and biking were welcomed, when the topic was previously considered a fringe idea. Part of this shift was driven by emotionally charged conversations on racial justice happening at city council meetings. Armstrong’s strategic efforts to build relationships with unlikely allies and decision-makers were also influential.
The Street Collective successfully advocated for 16 major street projects, one new policy, and one new policy in development. It secured 13 earned media pieces focused on active transportation. Its bike-share program is expanding to four new stations this year, with more expected, and it launched the region’s first electric bike-share bikes.
