Active Towns

In this episode, I connect with the newly appointed Executive Director of BikeWalk Provo, Austin Taylor, for a discussion about the current status of walking and biking in Provo as well as the progress the city has made and how the community is rallying to address their street safety challenges and concerns.Austin Taylor is one very busy guy. He works as a Transportation Planner focussing on Active Transportation and Transportation Demand Management, also known as TDM, for the Park City Municipal Corporate in Park City, Utah, and he’s the recently appointed volunteer Executive  Director of the non-profit BikeWalk Provo. In addition, he also serves as a board member for the Utah Chapter of CNU - The Congress for the New Urbanism. Additional Helpful Links:The Active Towns Landing page for this Episode - for more photos and other fun stuffThe Bike CollectiveThe Bike League - Bicycle Friendly America Program (BFA)Article in The Herald about Silver Status in the BFA ProgramUrban Arrow Family Cargo-bikesMotherload - the movieThe Urban Grid of SLC - "the most striking thing about Salt Lake’s grid is the scale. Blocks are 660 feet on each side. That means walking the length of two football fields from one intersection to the next. By comparison, nine Portland, Oregon city blocks can fit inside one Salt Lake block."Park City Bike Share SystemFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, I reconnect with the Bike Train Guru of The Netherlands, Roland Kager, with the consulting firm Studio Bereikbaar One of the very first things I noticed upon my initial visit to The Netherlands in 2015 was the seamless connection and synergistic coordination between the national transit system and the bicycle network, both of which we experienced every single day, usually multiple times each day. It wasn't until subsequent return trips that I realized how well thought out and studied this phenomenon actually is. In 2019 I had the pleasure of meeting Roland Kager of Studio Bereikbaar while tagging along with a PeopleForBikes Study Tour. His presentation and analysis of the data that he's collected drove home just how these relationships are and the powerful potential that these hold for other cities around the world.So we have your complimentary transit card ready for you, climb aboard, tune in and enjoy the ride.Additional Helpful Links:This episode's landing page on the Active Towns website for embedded videoDutch Cycling Embassy Knowledge Clip pdf on the Synergies Between Cycling, Public Transport, and Urban Planning Dutch Cycling Embassy Video featuring RolandFollow Roland on Twitter @BikeTrainGuruFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, I connect with Doug "Mr. BrooklynSpoke" Gordon, one of three co-hosts of The War on Cars Podcast, for a conversation about the battle to create safer streets and more livable communities for everyone.You can pretty much count on it - anytime there's a proposal to install a bike lane or pedestrian crossing that might inconvenience or slow down motor vehicle traffic in any amount, no matter how small, there's a chorus of screams from a vocal minority of haters that this is clearly evidence of a vicious "A War on Cars" most likely being waged upon an unsuspecting and helpless public by the "All-Powerful Bicycle Lobby". It would be such silly laughable bluster if it wasn't so important and serious that we take immediate strides in this fight to create safer more vibrant environments for everyone, including our most vulnerable roadway users, those walking, cycling, in wheelchairs, or even on scooters.So in typical "tongue-in-cheek" New York style, when Doug and his co-hosts, Aaron Naparstek and Sarah Goodyear decided to launch a podcast, The War on Cars was a natural moniker to poke fun at the ridiculous rhetoric.We dive "deep into the weeds" that these challenges represent, the progress being made, and how advocates make an impact in their own communities.Additional & Helpful Links: Landing Page for this Episode - access to photos and other fun stuffThe War of Cars PodcastBrooklyn Spoke MediaDoug's Twitter Account - BrooklynSpoke and the original blogThe New Republic article by Doug about changes to our streets due to the pandemicA recent The Daily News opinion piece by Doug about stopping the carnage on our streetsTransportation Alternatives - Streets for People organizationStreetsblog StreetfilmsBrooklyn Bridge bike lane storyOakland Slow Streets and Essential Places ProgramSlower Speeds article, AAA-CO StudyAARP Livable Communities ProgramStreetfight book by Janette Sadik-KhanDesigning for "All Ages & Abilities" - NACTO Guide Protected bike lanes/facilities via NACTO and from City of AustinHow the Dutch handle the snow on cycle tracks and bridgesWoom bikes episode Induced Demand - definitionParis transformations articleActive Towns Paris profile videoVision Zero NYC and the National Network Families for Safe Streets CitibikeTactical UrbanismNYC Summer StreetsFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast epis...

In this shortie, I check in after finally getting our power, heat, and internet service restored after the big winter storm of 2021 thumped Austin big time.While cold weather and even snow are not completely unheard of in Texas, clearly, the state, especially the power grid, is not prepared for such events. John touches upon some observations of neighborliness, community, and active mobility in the face of this powerful storm and extended power blackout. Landing Page for this episodeFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, I connect with Ryan Hale, founder of Laneshift, a consulting firm in Bentonville focused on helping other communities become more bicycle-friendly places. Northwest Arkansas has transformed itself into a Mountain Biking destination and, in the process, stimulated its economy and a culture of activity. The amazing culture of activity transformation that has been underway in the Northwest Arkansas region over the past couple of decades is an encouraging narrative that serves as a testament to what is possible and we believe it is truly an inspiring story for other cities across North America and around the world.Ryan has been in the middle of this "community evolution" over the past couple of decades and provides a fascinating view of the process and how the region continues to strive for additional active mobility improvements.Additional Helpful Links:The landing page for this episode on the Active Towns website for more photos and contentRyan's firm: LaneshiftThe Walton Family FoundationSoderquist Leadership Center which was rebranded as Milestone Leadership in 2018A story about the Denmark Study Tour  - Walton Family FoundationA story about the Denmark Study Tour - in the local newsAnother story about the Denmark Study Tour - in the local newsThe Lebron James Interview about BicyclesNWA Mtn Biking OZ Trails Bike NWA - Local Non-Profit NWA Best Trails in the Nation The Bike Snob goes to NWA PeopleForBikes summary of NWARogers’ Railyard Bike ParkBoulder Valmont Bike Park Walton Family Foundation/PeopleForBikes Economic Impact StudyNational Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA)Northwest Arkansas CouncilFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, I connect with University of Colorado Denver Professor Dr. Wes Marshall for a fun and fascinating discussion about some of the safer streets research that he and his students have conducted over the past decade. Wes Marshall, Ph.D., is a Professor of Civil Engineering and an affiliate faculty member in Planning and Design at the University of Colorado Denver. Wes focuses on transportation research and teaching dedicated to creating more sustainable, equitable, and resilient transportation systems, particularly in terms of road safety, active transportation, and transit. He has a vast body of work and we discuss several of his most notable studies that have gained attention over the past few years, including his 2019 research paper that highlighted enhanced safety of protected bikeways for all roadways users, not just people cycling.Additional Helpful Links:Active Towns Landing Page for this EpisodeProfessor Norman GarrickActive Towns Landing Page for Peter Norton's EpisodeActive Towns Landing Page for Fietsstraat/Bicycle Priority Street EpisodeActive Towns Landing Page for Jonathan Fertig's EpisodeCentral Park Community (formerly Denver's main airport)New UrbanismStreet Network 101 Explains Grided street network versus Tree-like street network as seen in most suburban communitiesLinks to the research papers we hit on:Why cities with high bicycling rates are safer for all road users www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140518301488Does street network design affect traffic safety? www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457510003179Effect of Street Network Design on Walking and Biking https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3141/2198-12Community design, street networks, and public health www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140514000486Scofflaw bicycling: Illegal but rational www.jstor.org/stable/26211757Advancing healthy cities through safer cycling: An examination of shared lane markings www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2046043018300583Understanding the impacts of integrating New Urbanist neighborhood and street design ideals with conventional traffic engineering standards: the case of Stapleton www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17549175.2014.896826Here are a few YouTube explainer videos made about Wes' research:Why Cities with High Bicycling Rates are Safer for all Road Users A Proactive Approach to Redefining Child Road Safety - and Vision ZeroThe Impacts of Uber & Lyft on TransportationComplete list of Wes' ResearchDenver Streetsblog InterviewFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, I connect with Erin Riediger for a dive deep into the details of how and why there's a surprising Dutch bike culture bomb exploding in the prairie city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Erin Riediger is in the final stages of officially becoming an architect. You’ll quickly learn that she’s passionate about creating equitable cities which partly explains how she got interested in advocating for safer cycling for everyone. And she’s also a talented storyteller and the producer of the Plain Bicycle Podcast series. We talk about it and the fascinating story surrounding the surprising transformative power that the simple, upright, plain if you will, Dutch-style bicycle has had and is having on Winnipeg and how it all came to be.Additional Helpful Links:This episode's landing page on the Active Towns website - to see some amazing photos that Erin sent our wayErin on TwitterThe Plain Bicycle ProjectWinnipeg TrailsChris & Melissa Bruntlett: Building the Cycling City The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality published by Island PressThe Active Towns Podcast episode featuring Chris Bruntlett with The Dutch Cycling EmbassyFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, we head back up to the province of British Columbia, Canada for a conversation about Restorative Natural Areas with Vancouver-based Katherine Howard and Jo FitzgibbonsJoanne "Jo" Fitzgibbons is a Ph.D. doctoral candidate at the University of British Columbia and a Sustainability Scholar with the Urban Biodiversity Hub Katherine Howard is a Project Manager with the City of Vancouver currently working on its comprehensive master plan, she was involved with developing VanPlay, the city’s parks and recreation services master plan.Jo and Katherine share how the development of the Restorative Natural Area (RNA) Index tool assisted the City of Vancouver and contributed as a layer in the Equity Initiative Zone mapping as part of VanPlay, the City's Parks and recreation services master plan.Additional Helpful Links:Equity Initiative Zones article that Katherine wrote for TheCityFixFort Collins, Colorado - Nature in the CityFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, I connect with Kelly Rodgers, a Ph.D. doctoral candidate in Urban Studies at Portland State University and the founder of the non-profit evidence-based resource platform, Streetsmart.Streetsmart is an amazing non-profit platform and resource clearinghouse for integrating climate change, public health, and equity concerns into transportation. Specifically the platform is evidence-based and helps users make the case for healthy investments and prioritize strategies that meet community goals. The focus is on proven strategies that can help communities meet their goals for increasing physical activity, walking, and bicycling; reducing vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions; and improving equity and inclusion. Kelly provides some background about the origins of the name for this effort, how she came to start it, and how it ties in with her doctoral program. The conversation centers around how communities can use the Streetsmart platform as a practical tool to help facilitate and support change.Additional Links and Helpful Resources:STARS (Sustainable Transportation Analysis & Rating System) Kelly serves on the Steering Committee of PHEAL (Planning for Health Equity, Advocacy, and Leadership), pronounced "feel" - Mission:To reaffirm and expand the commitment of those involved in community planning and public health; to break down the obstacles preventing transdisciplinary, transformative collaboration; to dismantle oppressive systems, beliefs, values, and practices that negatively affect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, low income, immigrant, and other historically marginalized/under-represented communities (historically overburdened communities with health disparities); and to reorganize our systematic approaches to lead toward the path that will genuinely create and nurture healthy, equitable, and prosperous communities.ITE - Mission: To provide the global community of transportation professionals with the knowledge, practices, skills and connections to serve the needs of their communities and help shape the future of the profession and transportation in the societal context.Vice-chair, ITE Standing Committee on Transportation and HealthTRB Transportation Research Board - which is part of the National Academy of ScienceMember, Transportation Research Board, Standing Committee onTransportation and Public Health (AME70)American Public Health Association, Center for Climate, Health, and EquityFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, the first of a new year and new season, I head up to Ontario, Canada (virtually) for a discussion with Jamie Stuckless and Darnel Harris about the policies associated with e-assist bikes and an innovative cargo-bike library. Jamie Stuckless is a Hamilton-based advocate and policy wonk who has become increasingly interested in and working on the needed legislative updates with regards to e-bikes and other electric mobility devices. We reference a recent article that she published about her first substantial experience riding an electric assist bike.While Darnel Harris is the Executive Director of Our GreenWay an NGO working to create a more resilient and equitable Northwest Toronto, a far flung, industrial exurb of the city of Toronto. We reference an article that Darnel published along with Sam Starr about the the post-pandemic future of electric assist cycles.Additional Helpful Links:Episode Landing Page on the Active Towns website Jamie's websiteJamie wrote a policy piece for the Ontario Good Roads Association Jamie and Darnel have both done a bit of writing for this e-bikes website: https://ebikes-international.com/Cycling Without AgeFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground:Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman.I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.Since that time, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks for tuning in; I hope you have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★