Active Towns

In this episode, I connect with Phil Levin, founder of the Live Near Friends organization and movement to talk about the benefits and logistics of finding creative ways to live closer to our beloved friends and family members. We naturally end up talking about innovative strategies to enhance happiness and social cohesion while also increasing missing middle housing supplies. Thank you so much for...

In this episode, I connect with Marley Blonsky, Founder of All Bodies On Bikes, for a discussion about her personal journey, the joy of riding bikes, and the movement to encourage everyone, "all ages & abilities," and body types to ride more frequently and for a variety of purposes. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the...

In this episode, I connect with Graham Zimmerman, an elite-level alpinist, author, and the Director of Athlete Alliances for Protect Our Winters (POW), for an in-depth discussion about the organization and its campaigns to influence systemic policy changes and engage the community. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the podc...

In this episode, the first of Season Eight, I connect with the "Worst Mother in America," Lenore Skenazy, author of the book Free-Range Kids: How Parents and Teachers Can Let Go and Let Grow and the co-founder of the Let Grow organization and movement for childhood independence. 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 connect with the founder of Streets For All, Michael Schneider. We discuss the recent huge win, Measure HLA, in the March 2024 Los Angeles elections and how other cities learn from the Streets For All experience and start getting major political wins in their communities, whether large or small. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a...

In this episode, Chuck Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, and I discuss the new book he co-wrote with Daniel Herriges, Escaping the Housing Trap: A Strong Towns Response to the Housing Crisis, as we walk around in and reflect upon what we see in the Over The Rhine District in Cincinnati, Ohio. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe t...

In this episode, I reconnect with Professor Wes Marshall for a discussion about his new book Killed By A Traffic Engineer: Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies Our Transportation System. Note that this episode was recorded as a Livestreaming event on YouTube so we do frequently take questions from the audience via the chat window. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this epis...

In this episode, I connect with Maddy Novich, NYC-based mother of three, professor of criminology, and an accidental cargo bike influencer on Instagram, for a discussion about her fascinating journey to becoming passionate about the empowering nature of cargo bikes in general and e-assist cargo bikes in particular. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with...

In this episode, I connect with Dan Hendry, the driving force behind Canada's youth transit revolution and the Get On The Bus campaign, for an in-depth conversation about the transformative impacts these efforts are having on the mobility freedom and sense of empowerment of the younger generations in their participating cities. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please s...

In this episode, I reconnect with Dan Piatkowski, Associate Professor of Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Planning at OsloMet University, for a conversation about his brand-new book Bicycle City: Riding the Bike Boom to a Brighter Future, published by Island Press. 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...

In this episode, I connect with Jim DeCecco, who has come out of retirement to help resurrect the Oceano, CA bike posse ice cream runs and restore the youth bike program mojo to their former glory days. 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 listening platform. Also, don't forget to check out the Ac...

In this episode, I reconnect with my good friend, Nate Hood from Saint Paul, MN, to discuss his hilarious suburban engagement photos, his stand-up comedy routine, and some very encouraging updates from Minnesota on land use and parking policy reform. Naturally, we sneak in some cycle network discussions, and Jason Slaughter with the Not Just Bikes Channel gets a nice cameo mention when we talk abo...

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...