Active Towns

In this episode, I reconnect with Mike Christensen, train travel expert and the Executive Director of the Utah Rail Passengers Association, for a discussion about recent exciting rail network expansion opportunities and what I would need to do to successfully take the Active Towns Tour to the rails here in the United States. Background: I routinely combine bike and train travel to explore and docu...

In this episode, I connect with Kristin Fehrman of Walking Detroit for a conversation about how she profiles the beauty and simple pleasures of car-free living in Motor City. During our chat, we trace her journey from Traverse City, MI to a handful of big cities across North America, including San Francisco, Charlotte, Boston, and NYC, only to find herself drawn back to her home state, settling do...

In this episode, I connect with Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving Is Not An Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency, a new book by Island Press, available on May 9, 2024. We discuss her journey as a visually impaired person unable to drive to her role as an advocate for other non-drivers and for safer, more inviting environments for all ages and abilities. We also discuss what inspired her to...

In this special election bonus episode, I connect with a dedicated Houston-based freeway fighter and ER Nurse, Molly Cook, who is running to fill the recently vacated Texas State Senate District 15 position. We talk about what inspired her to get involved at the community level and ultimately run for state office. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a...

In this episode, I reconnect with Timur Ender, who is running for city council in Portland, Oregon's newly created East Portland District. Timur has a long history of public service and was instrumental in launching the buildout of the high-comfort cycle network on the eastside, in addition to countless other infrastructure projects, including sidewalks, street trees, and safer pedestrian crossing...

In this episode, I connect with Peter Flax, author of the fabulous new book Live To Ride: Finding Joy and Meaning on a Bicycle. We discuss the fact that if you're riding a bike, you're doing it right and what can be done to get more people riding more often. Along the way, we channel the Dutch and Danish experiences and successes in making riding a bike just a natural part of daily life. Thank you...

In this episode, I speak with Bryn Grunwald on RMI's Carbon Free Transport Team about their new tools and calculators for measuring the benefits and impacts of shifting typical car trips to bikes and e-bikes across several environmental and economic metrics. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the podcast on your preferred li...

In this episode, you'll meet the duo behind the newest urbanism super-firm, Speck Dempsey, Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City, and Chris Dempsey, former Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Massachusetts. We talk about what prompted them to partner up and how they plan to help cities and towns create more walkable and bikeable environments. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for tuning i...

In this episode, I connect with Petru Sofio, a passionate young transportation prodigy who is currently a high school senior in Arlington, MA, a small Boston area community next to Cambridge and Somerville. We discuss why and how he got engaged in advocating for Dutch-inspired cycle network and intersection signal design. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share i...

In the episode, I welcome back Cathy Tuttle, an anthropologist and planner, currently living in Utrecht in The Netherlands, to discuss her recent work in and studies of the values and cultural norms influencing the Dutch built environment we've become accustomed to, including the overlapping mobility networks and their current approach to public space. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoy...

Ethically, we should reduce highway lane miles, not expand them. In this episode, I chat with Jeanie Ward-Waller, who made national news last fall when she was let go from Caltrans, the California state DOT (Department of Transportation), after she blew the whistle on a process being employed to cut corners and add an additional freeway lane. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this ep...

In this episode, I connect with Austin-based journalist and the author of the new book City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways, Megan Kimble. In the book, she follows the story of three major freeway fights playing out in the state of Texas over the period of about four years while channeling the movement of freeway removals and reparations nationwide. Thank y...

In this episode, I talk with Mike West about his quest to import proven Dutch sustainable safety mobility design concepts into his home state of Utah. Mike is a city planner working for Lehi, UT, while living in the planned community of Daybreak in South Jordan, UT, which features an impressive network of off-street pathways. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please sha...

In this episode, I connect with Burnaby, BC-based transportation engineer Roy Symons, for a chat about his beautiful book fietspad: A Journey Through The Netherlands Documenting its Bicycle Infrastructure that he recently published. We also talk about his journey as a classically trained civil engineer from Scotland to a passionate advocate for the creation of active mobility infrastructure in his...

In this episode, I connect with Prue Oswin, founder of Sidelines Traffic from the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia, for a deep conversation about safer active transportation infrastructure. We even explore applying the four core virtues of stoicism - wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice - in designing environments appropriate for all ages and abilities, such as protected bike lanes, sep...

Darcy Varney Kitching with Boulder Transportation Connections is back on the pod to talk about her new role in transportation demand management (TDM), share her personal experiences from her week without driving challenge, and reflect on her recent Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the Podcast...

In this episode, I reconnect with Michael "Mike" Pasternock, who has catapulted the Strong Towns YouTube Channel to new heights in the past year. We discuss his journey from a high school teacher in the Midwest to a wedding video producer in the Phoenix area to the new face of the Strong Towns YouTube Channel based in Chicago. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please sh...

In this episode, I reconnect with Todd Litman, Founder and Executive Director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI) for a discussion about his research into the elements we must take into consideration as we strive to transform our communities into our desired paradises. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the Pod...

Rethink35 is suing TxDOT: Why this action has global implications. In this special, bonus episode, I connect with Kelsey Huse and Gregory Bertrand, volunteers with Rethink35, for an urgent conversation about the two legal actions that this community group has taken to try and stop this project. Please sign on to the Civil Rights Complaint and make a donation here: https://rethink35.org/ Making our...

In this episode, I connect with Lucy Maloney, an advocate and frequent spokesperson in the battle for safer streets and safe cycling routes in Vancouver, BC. We cover the ongoing disturbing trend of victim blaming instead of addressing the core street design issues, the recent move to remove bike lanes in Stanley Park, the push to create and maintain safer school streets, and much much more. Thank...

In this episode, I connect with Robert "Bob" Searns, the author of Beyond Greenways: The Next Step for City Trails and Walking Routes, a recent book published by Island Press. We discuss the concept of formal Grand Loops around entire cities and shorter Town Walks that can be cobbled together quite easily. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend...

In this episode, I welcome back Professor Peter Norton of the University of Virginia for a continuation of our discussion about the long legacy of parents fighting for safer streets in the United States of America and how Motordom ultimately prevailed in most cases where they were challenged. We also draw comparisons between the street safety protests of The Netherlands in the 1970s, which profoun...

In this episode, I connect with Joshua Funches for a conversation about the National Youth Bike Council and the Youth Bike Summit happening in June in Lehigh Valley, PA. We talk about their efforts to engage more youths and young adults in the bicycle movement, the empowering nature of kids being able to ride bikes to meet their daily transportation needs, and how the recent Bike Bus movement has...

In this episode, I connect with Deema Aburizik, the force of nature behind the new Street Design Team, a firm that is taking inspiration from the Dutch Cycling Embassy, the European Cyclists' Federation, and other institutions to build the knowledge capacity needed to expand the active mobility networks on the ground in Dubai, the UAE and across the Middle East. Thank you so much for tuning in! If...

In this episode, I reconnect with Joe Minicozzi, founder of Urban3, to discuss why our traditional development patterns were and are more productive financially and how that relates to Strong Towns and creating more Active Towns that promote a culture of activity. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the Podcast on your prefer...