Active Towns

In this episode, I catch up with bicycle and clean air advocate extraordinaire Frank Peters of Santa Barbara, CA. The primary topic is the city's transformation of State Street, its iconic downtown main street, into a car-free zone because of the devastating impacts from Covid-19. Cities around the world have been dramatically reshaping and reimagining their public spaces, especially their downtown streets in response to the negative economic and health impacts from the novel coronavirus pandemic, Covid-19. Santa Barbara, California took the bold step of making State Street, the main shopping and dining destination in the downtown district, a car-free zone and the results have been amazing.Helpful & Relevant Links:Video version of this episode (shortened)Episode landing page on Active Towns websiteWalk Bike Places Conference Russ Roca and Path Less Pedaled Oregon Scenic BikewaysSanta Barbara Bicycle CoalitioncycleCalCoastFour 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:Ultimate Inspiration by Sander Kalmeijer, Perfect Smile by Lance Conrad, and Uplifting Forward Thinking by Jeppe Reil and Thomas Reil via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 Meredith Glaser, a Ph.D. doctoral candidate within the University of Amsterdam's Urban Cycling Institute, for a discussion about living in The Netherlands as an ex-pat from California, accelerating reform to support human-scaled accessibility, and developing an understanding about the transfer of knowledge from study tours. Meredith had originally planned to only study and work abroad for a year or so, well that has turned into a decade of living in Amsterdam, raising a family, and developing a passion for a better understanding of Dutch cycling and how other cities around the world can best learn from the experiences of The Netherlands. In this long-form interview with John Simmerman, Founder of the Active Towns Initiative and host of the Active Towns Podcast, Meredith discusses what it has been like to make such a huge change culturally and how active mobility becomes second nature because of the built form, policy structures, and societal norms.Meredith also discusses in-depth two recent papers she has published along with some of her colleagues at the Urban Cycling Institute, Learning from abroad: An interdisciplinary exploration of knowledge transfer in the transport domain and Accelerating reform to govern streets in support of human-scaled accessibilityAdditional and Helpful Links: Spokes! Ridecast video with Meredith Glaser: Where did all the traffic lights go?Amsterdam Bike Tour by Urban Planner Meredith Glaser videoFour 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:Happy Uplifting Dance Track by Fredrik Storm, Happy News by Evgeny-Kiselevich, and Road to Success by Mikael Manvelyan via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 catch up with Pam LeBlanc, a freelance writer based in Austin, TX, who is constantly creating content about adventure, fitness, and travel. In addition to chatting about some of her recent and upcoming explorations, they talk about her recently published book. NOTE: Video episode available.  Having a spirit of adventure and being pretty much "Up for Anything" has served Pam LeBlanc well over the decades as an accomplished journalist, photographer, and author.We were fortunate enough to catch Pam between several big trips to learn more about her latest adventures and the publication of her first book, My Stories, All True: J. David Bamberger on Life as an Entrepreneur and Conservationist published by Texas A&M University Press.Additional Helpful Links:Active Towns Landing Page for this episode - to access the video version, photos, and bonus materialPam's website: pamleblancadventures.com Facebook pageInstagramFour 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:Simply Adorkable by Sander Kalmeijer and Happy Walk by Simon Jomphe Lepine via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 Angie Schmitt, the author of the new book Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America published by Island Press. We discuss the many complicated and convoluted reasons why this has been happening and talk about some of the inspiring, hopeful stories of change she highlighted in the book. Helpful Links:Streetfilms video of Jorge Canez aka Peatónito ("little pedestrian") https://www.streetfilms.org/peatonito-is-in-nyc-protecting-pedestrians-from-cars-in-the-crosswalk/Streetsblog USA Pedestrian Safety: The Last Frontier - Clarence M. Ditlow, III https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_DitlowIt Could Be Me campaign, Triny Willerton Families for Safe Streets https://www.transalt.org/familiesforsafestreetsSTROAD Defined Angie’s new firm: 3mph Planning and ConsultingThe suburb where everyone can walk to school, Lakewood, OH: Streetsblog article and Streetsfilms video Disney’s Motor Mania Cartoon - Mr. Walker vs. Mr. Wheeler, videoHans Monderman - Shared 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:Escaping Forever by Michael Vignola, Stay with Me by Lance Conrad, and The Dark Night by Neil-Cross via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 welcome back a good friend to the Active Towns Podcast, Mr. Ryan Van Duzer, to talk about his recent bikepacking adventures and help us launch our video podcast. That's right! We will now feature a video version of a select number of our future episodes that will really benefit from having a visual component. Ryan is the perfect guest for our first video episode because of all his vibrant imagery that he produces on his DuzerTV YouTube channel. So if you'd like to watch the video podcast version of this episode click on this link: Bikepacking w/ Ryan Van Duzer - video Additional Helpful Links:- Bikepacking Magazine- Priority Bicycles- Caballo Blanco Copper Canyon Ultra Run 2021 Sign-up- League of American Bicyclists- PeopleForBikes- Our First Active Towns Podcast Interview w/ Ryan - Our on-bike video interview w/ Ryan - StreamYard - Mira the Super Dog's Instagram Account - Born to Run Book - Barefoot Ted - RAGBRAI Bike Ride Across Iowa Some of Ryan's Videos mentioned in the podcast:- Backyard Bikepacking - Tahoe Twirl Playlist- The Great Divide Playlist- Caballo Blanco Run 2017- Caballo Blanco Run 2018- Baja Bikepacking Part 1- Baja Bikepacking Part 2- RAGBRAI 2019 Videos- Ryan's Priority Bikepacking Bike- Ryan's Pack List for the Great Divide Ride- Ryan's Priority Apollo Bike Review- Ryan's Behind the Scenes Filmmaking Process- Colorado Hut Trip Playlist 2019- Ryan's mom gets an e-bike- Community Cycles Moves by Cargo-bike- Living a Car-Free LifestyleFour 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:Progressive Pop Dua Lipa Feel by Elonte Chandler, Morning Sun by Will Van De Crommert, and Happy and Inspiring by James Grant via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 Donald Shoup, a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA for a fascination discussion about how strategic parking policy reforms can help create healthy, vibrant communities.  In 2005, Donald Shoup published a nearly 800-page book called The High Cost of Free Parking which quickly became a "cult-classic" in urbanism, transportation, and planning circles. In 2018 he followed up by editing Parking and the City a series of case studies, stories, and learnings from around the world.Perhaps the most significant achievement in his writings, presentations, and conversations is how he makes talking about parking policy interesting, engaging, and even humorous at times.Additional Helpful Links:Episode Landing Page on the Active Towns website (bonus photos)Parkumentaries - including a link the Adam Ruins Everything truTV video Adam Ruins Everything Podcast Episode featuring Donald ShoupParking ArticlesCNU27 - Louisville, KY keynote presentation videoShoupistas Facebook GroupFour 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:Summer Techno Jam by Christina Nemo, Destination Optimistic by Simon Jomphe Lepine, and Technology & Motivation by Ihor Vitsinskyy via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 have a wide-ranging discussion with Lennard Zinn, a Boulder, Colorado-based former elite-level bike racer, journalist, author, and custom bike builder. Lennard is probably best known for his frequent technical journalistic contributions on VeloNews and his incredibly popular books published by VeloPress on bike maintenance and repair, Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance and Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance.He's also a co-author, along with Chris Case and Dr. John Mandrola, of The Haywire Heart: How too much exercise can kill you, and what you can do to protect your heart and he has become the go-to builder of custom titanium bikes for big & tall riders with his company Zinn Cycles and has stock steel bikes through a partnership with KHS.Our conversation kicks off with a description of how he made the transition from an elite-level racer to a bike builder, then journalist and author, and finally we dive into the emerging details of "athlete's heart syndrome" or "haywire heart".Additional Helpful Links:APS Physics Interview from 2017Tom Ritchey - Ritchey BikesCycling to Extremes Article - VeloNewsDavis Phinney - Davis Phinney Foundation helping people with Parkinson'sConnie Carpenter-Phinney - USA Cycling Hall of FameDave Scott, Six-Time Ironman Triathlon World Champion - Dave's PagePeter SaganEgan BernalDr. Shannon Sovndal ~ Garmin Sharp Pro Cycling TeamHeart Arrhythmia, Tachycardia, FibrillationPatellofemoral Pain SyndromeBoulder B-Cycle ~ B-Cycle e-Assist BikeAustin B-Cycle ~ CapMetro & City PartnershipA Recent Article on e-bikesBosch e-Bike SystemsZinn Fondo articleStrava KOM or QOM defined, tipsBike Power MeterTitanium - tensile strength Cross Country Skiing Techniques - Skate & Classic and BackcountryCyclo-crossFour 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:Rose Colored Glasses by Lance Conrad, Uplifting Acoustic Loop by Joel Thomas Hunger, and Heartland and Home by Will Van De Crommert via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020

In this episode, I connect with Brad Appel, the Founder and Executive Director of this amazing initiative about how the simple gift of a bicycle can have such a profound and positive influence on children. We discuss how the program leverages corporate engagement and organizational teamwork in delivering the bikes as well as the various adjustments necessitated by the current Covid19 pandemic.For the past 16 years the Wish For Wheels non-profit based in Denver, CO has been connecting second-graders in title 1 schools in underserved communities across the country with the joy that a new bicycle brings. A few weeks ago John had the honor of interviewing Brad Appel, the founder and executive director of this amazing initiative.What are your earliest memories and emotions associated with riding a bike? For many of us the words fun, freedom, friends, excitement, and exhilaration come forward, however, for far too many kids a bike is just an unattainable dream. The Wish For Wheels program based in Denver, CO strives to get bikes to second graders in title 1 schools in underserved communities across the country.Additional Helpful Links:Episode Landing Page on the Active Towns (bonus photos)Bike Ride PodcastAndy BoenauCar-Free Fire Island, NYPATH - Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii - Bike Ed ProgramWoom Bikes - Active Towns Podcast Episode w/ Mathias IhlenfeldPeopleForBikesLeague of American BicyclistsBicycle ColoradoIt Could Be Me - Active Towns Podcast Episode w/ Triny Willerton, Founder of It Could Be MeHeadsweats - The fabulous folks behind our Active Towns logo hats w/ retro-reflective side panelsPandanaUSA - The tube bandana people that produced our super cool custom micro-fiber neck gaiters Four 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:Salted Popcorn by John McClung, Summer Fun by Ihor-Vitsinskyy, and Surprisingly Quirky by Sander Kalmeijer via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 Kaid Benfield, a veteran urbanism professional and published author who tirelessly advocates for the creation and celebration of places that people love. From Kaid's professional bio:Kaid Benfield is one of the country’s most steadfast voices for making cities, towns, and neighborhoods work better for both people and the environment.  Based in Washington, DC, he serves as senior counsel at PlaceMakers LLC, a city and town planning consultancy working across the United States and Canada.  Before joining PlaceMakers in 2015, Kaid worked for over 30 years as a senior attorney and program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he founded and led the organization’s sustainable communities program and, before that, managed the litigation of some of the organization’s most important legal cases.  A prolific public speaker and writer, Kaid’s large portfolio of publications spans several books and over a thousand articles for such publications as The Atlantic, HuffPost, CityLab, PlaceShakers and Newsmakers, and numerous other websites and academic journals.  Kaid was voted one of "the 100 most influential urbanists" worldwide on the prominent city planning website, Planetizen.com, and previously was named one of "the most influential people in sustainable planning and development" by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities and "one of the top 100 city innovators worldwide" by the website Future Cities.  His latest book is People Habitat: 25 Ways to Think About Greener, Healthier Cities, distributed by Island Press.During his tenure at NRDC, Kaid was a co-founder of Smart Growth America, a leading nonprofit organization and nationwide coalition working on revitalizing cities, building better neighborhoods for all people, and stopping the spread of suburban sprawl.  He also co-founded LEED for Neighborhood Development, a national process for defining and certifying smart, environmentally sound land development under the auspices of the US Green Building Council.  In addition, Kaid is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University School of Law, where he has taught law, policy, and best practices for sustainable communities.  An avid cyclist, ardent music buff, and enthusiastic sports fan, Kaid grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and holds degrees from Emory University and Georgetown University Law Center.  He lives with his wife Sharon in a walkable DC neighborhoodIn this episode, John and Kaid talk about the impact and importance of getting out of our cars to experience and appreciate our communities in a much more intimate and meaningful manner. They also dive into Kaid's passion for cycling, strategies for making a difference locally, and the vital necessity of engaging people of color in the discussions and planning efforts in the transformations of their communities.  Additional & Helpful Links:Active Towns Podcast Episode w/ Nicole DeBoomActive Towns Podcast Episode w/ Roshun AustinActive Towns Podcast Episode w/ Charles BrownWalkScoreTransitScoreRichard Louv Books on Nature and Nature DeficitBuild Maine 2020 ProgramFour 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:Marshall Co by Sander Kalmeijer, Dude by Bruce Zimmerman, and Johnny and the Pale Rider by Paul Mitchell Beebe via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 Manu Calvo of Seville, Spain for a discussion about the extraordinary feat the city achieved in dropping down a nearly complete safe, and inviting cycle network in just 18 months.While it's true that they don't garner the attention of Copenhagen or Amsterdam, the historic city of Seville, Spain, was poised to react when the economic downturn of 2007 hit, so they mobilized and built a nearly complete "All Ages & Abilities" cycle network in just 18 months. In this episode, one of the "architects" and chief cheerleaders of this effort, Manu Calvo reflects on that experience and gives us an update on the current status and future plans.This is story is particularly relevant to North American cities because cycling simply wasn't part of their culture prior to this initiative with incredibly low rates of people riding, mostly just a few recreational enthusiasts, however after the network was in place they saw a massive increase to approximately a 7% modal share, which then grew to 10%+ after additional expansions to the network were later built out. Now they are constrained by their capacity and need to widen many of the most popular routes especially immediately outside the city's ancient wall that protects is historic core.Additional & Helpful Links:Places For Bike Conference - Indianapolis, IN article about Manu’s presentation in Indy Velo City Conference SRAM Cycling Fund - Randy Neufeld PeopleForBikesTactical Urbanism - Mike Lydon’s Active Towns Podcast episodeNew York Transformation of Broadway Times SquareStreetfilms Seville VideoBloomberg City Lab VideoEstudioMCChris Bruntlett w/ 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:A Spanish Affair, Magic Hour, Spanish Fiesta by Neil Cross via Storyblocks.comResources 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, 2020Advocates 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 ★