Active Towns

Yay! Megan Ramey is featured in this final podcast episode of the year and the conclusion of Season 6. We had a fabulous conversation about her efforts to help create a positive culture of active mobility in Hood River, Oregon, starting naturally with the kids. 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...

In this bonus episode, which was adapted from our video conversation, Professor Billy Fields and Manuel "Manu" Calvo discuss the amazing transformation of Seville's cycle network and the emerging culture of utilitarian bike riding, especially with families, women, children, and the elderly. The network, which was patterned after those in the cycling cities of Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Utrecht, wa...

In this episode, I reconnect with traffic engineer activist and propagandartist extraordinaire, Mr. Andy Boenau. We discuss his recent documentary Healthy Havoc, the deadly challenge and legacy of status quo transportation engineering and planning in North America, and his new projects on the horizon. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and s...

In this episode, I catch up with bike map creator extraordinaire and Jenkintown Borough council member-elect, Steve Spindler for an in-depth discussion about maps, map art, and long-distance bike touring and bike camping with his teenage daughter. 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 pla...

Roger Rudick and Luke Bornheimer join me for a conversation about the ongoing sagas and successes playing out on the streets of San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area. We highlight several massive wins, including Car Free JFK, several amazing protected bike lanes, and the bike bus boom, but we also discuss the challenges of an ill-conceived center running, bi-directional cycle track on Valencia...

In this episode, I connect with Gary Oddi, President and co-founder of the Bike Temecula Valley  Coalition in Temecula, California, for a discussion about their efforts to create an active mobility network for all ages and abilities in the area. 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 platf...

In this episode, I connect with Dr. Matt Schaeffer, MD, general surgery resident at Wright State University Premiere Health in Dayton, OH, for a discussion about the nuance of bike lane design, encouraging more people to ride for optimal health and crash prevention all from a medical perspective. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscr...

In this episode, I connect with Steffen Berr, Traffic Advisor for the City of Haarlem in The Netherlands, for a conversation about the steps the city is taking to reduce the number of motor vehicles in the historic city center and we also discuss some of the specific traffic calming street design strategies the Dutch employ that the typical transportation professionals in the United States don't e...

In this episode, I connect with Jenna Hanes and Kelsey Huse, two of Austin's amazing change agents and activists who are making a profound difference through the TikTok videos they are producing and sharing out on X (formerly Twitter). From freeway fighting to advocating for protected bike lanes and safe crosswalks to making fun of silly, ineffective shade structures to defeating bad election meas...

In this episode, I reconnect with Mike Packard, a traffic engineer with the firm SSFM, based in Honolulu, Hawai'i, for a conversation about some encouraging signs of improvement in the construction of safe and inviting bicycle and pedestrian facilities across the Hawaiian Islands. Although none of the islands have a working high-comfort active mobility network yet, each has a handful of facilities...

In this episode, I reconnect with Allen Cowgill, a Denver-based safer streets advocate extraordinaire who was inspired to start a new bike bus for his kid's elementary school, Brown International Academy. We chat about the good work being done to make Denver's streets safer and more inviting for all ages and abilities and the steps he and his volunteers took to launch the Brown Bike Bus. Thank you...

In this episode, I connect with Veronica O. Davis, Houston's Director of Transportation and Drainage Operations and the author of Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities, for an in-depth conversation about how and why she got into the transportation field and what we can do to accelerate the process of building mobility systems that serve everyone, all ages and abil...

In this episode, which I've edited down from our Livestream on Oct 27th, 2023, I welcome back Charles "Chuck" Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, for an in-depth discussion about proven strategies for creating safer streets without resorting to a constant cycle of trying to find someone to blame. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe...

In this episode, the second in a two-part series, I reconnect with Dr. Tristan Cleveland, Ph. D. to discuss additional strategies for transforming the suburbs into more desirable walkable, bike-able, and transit-served places. 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, and don't forg...

In this episode, the first in a two-part series, I connect with Dr. Tristan Cleveland, Ph. D. to discuss how the suburbs can be transformed into more desirable walkable, bike-able, and transit-served places. 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, and don't forget to check out the...

In this episode, I reconnect with Ray Delahanty, the self-proclaimed Plangineer behind the smash hit City Nerd YouTube Channel. We discuss his journey to becoming a full-time content creator, some of his biggest surprises, and where he gets his inspiration for new videos. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the Podcast on you...

In this episode, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett bring us along for a review of their summer family vacation explorations in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Trondheim, and Bergen. Naturally, they provide snapshots of the people-oriented places they experienced, an evaluation of the cycle and cargo bike scenes, and a healthy dose of reveling in the access to nature these destinations served up. Thank you...

In this episode, I reconnect with former pro soccer player, Tesho Akindele, for a conversation about his unlikely and unexpected journey from pro sports to urbanism and developing, walkable and bike-friendly communities in Charlotte, NC. I first met Tesho at the annual Congress for the New Urbanism gathering in Charlotte and immediately knew I needed to have him on the Channel to chat about his ad...

In this episode, I reconnect with Martina Haggerty, the new Senior Director for the PeopleForBikes Local Innovations initiative. Martina shares some information about the history of the Local Innovations efforts at PFB and the newly announced Great Bike Infrastructure Project. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the Podcast o...

In this episode, I connect with Professor Kelly Clifton, Ph. D. from the University of British Columbia, for a conversation about using comics as a way to present complicated urbanism, transportation, and land use issues in a more approachable way for the general public. 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 Babet Hendriks with Mobycon in The Netherlands for a discussion about the theoretical construct of the Mobility Doughnut, a concept inspired by the Economic Doughnut theory. To illustrate the points, we'll do some side-by-side photographic comparisons between Dutch and North American mobility systems. Also discussed is the need to move how we measure and evaluate ou...

In this episode, I connect with Murilo Casagrande and Heloisa Bento Ribeiro with the Aromeiazero Institute, an organization in São Paulo, Brazil that develops social, educational, and cultural projects to reduce social inequalities and make cities more resilient. Their mission is to promote change in the way of life of people and cities through bicycles. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enj...

In this episode, Dr. Natalia Barbour and I discuss her family's big move from The Netherlands back to Florida and a few of her recent publications as a researcher and Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida. We talk about the network of separated pathways that allow her and her family to meet many of their daily needs, including getting to school, the grocery store, and the coffee...

In this episode, the first of Season Six of the Active Towns Podcast: Conversations About Creating a Culture of Activity, I speak with Grant Ennis, the author of the fascinating and thought-provoking new book Dark PR: How corporate disinformation harms our health and the environment. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the Po...

In this episode, I'm honored to connect with Will Butler-Adams, the CEO of Brompton Bicycles, about the role that the humble bicycle is playing in addressing the most pressing issues we face globally, from health, well-being, loneliness, unproductive and financially unsustainable urban environments and yes, climate change. And a HUGE thank you to Ryan Van Duzer for letting me create a makeshift st...