Active Towns
John Simmerman
Recent Episodes
In this episode, I reconnect with Sam Pearson, Healthy Communities Program Manager at the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, to discuss active mobility implementation strategies in smaller cities and rural towns, and how to leverage existing assets such as trails and pathways.
Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 Pennsylvania Downtown Center
👉 My Pittsburgh videos - Part One and Part Two
👉 Early Childhood Mobility Coalition
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Become an Active Towns Member on YouTube for exclusive member-only content and Livestreams
2. Join the Active Towns Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month
3. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"
4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc., to help support my pro bono work with cities
Credits:
- Video and audio production by John Simmerman
- Music via Epidemic Sound
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
- Equipment: Contact me for a complete list
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
- Active Towns Website
- Active Towns on Bluesky
- Weekly Update e-Newsletter
Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 35 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving 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."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video 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 once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2025
In this episode, I connect with Dr. Matthew "Tepi" Mclaughlin from Perth, Australia, for a conversation about the institutional subsidization of motonormativity that directly contributes to epidemic levels of physical inactivity.
Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 Human Kinetics Journal article with Grant Ennis
👉 Episode with Grant Ennis
👉 15 Minute City shirt by Tom Flood
👉 My recent episode with Tom Flood
👉 Strong Towns website
👉 World’s Longest City doc
👉 8 INVESTMENTS
👉 The Conversation Article on Investment Levels
👉 The Conversation Article on 30 km/hr speed
👉 The Conversation Article on How to Stop Speeding
👉 The Conversation Article on Vision Zero Successes
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Become an Active Towns Member on YouTube for exclusive member-only content and Livestreams
2. Join the Active Towns Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month
3. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"
4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc., to help support my pro bono work with cities
Credits:
- Video and audio production by John Simmerman
- Music via Epidemic Sound
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
- Equipment: Contact me for a complete list
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
- Active Towns Website
- Active Towns on Bluesky
- Weekly Update e-Newsletter
Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 35 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving 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."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video 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 once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2025
In this episode, I connect with Michel Durand-Wood, the Elmwood Guy behind the popular blog Dear Winnipeg, for a conversation about his efforts to engage his community in discussions surrounding municipal finance, channeling a Strong Towns approach, and mobilizing a coalition of neighborhood groups to take immediate action on the streets with the city's (reluctant) support. We also talk about his new book, You'll Pay For This, which is part of a multi-volume effort called The City Project.
Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 Dear Winnipeg blog
👉 The City Project books
👉 Reimagine Elmwood community effort
👉 Strong Towns website
👉 Joe Minicozzi and Urban 3: Financially Sustainable Communities by Design
👉 Portage and Main article from 2018
👉 Another Portage and Main article from 2018
👉 Portage and Main article from 2024
👉 Probe Research Report 2024
👉 My final interview with Prof. Donald Shoup
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Become an Active Towns Member on YouTube for exclusive member-only content and Livestreams
2. Join the Active Towns Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month
3. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"
4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc., to help support my pro bono work with cities
Credits:
- Video and audio production by John Simmerman
- Music via Epidemic Sound
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
- Equipment: Contact me for a complete list
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
- Active Towns Website
- Active Towns on Bluesky
- Weekly Update e-Newsletter
Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 35 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving 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."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video 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 once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2025
In this episode, I connect with Dorothy "Dot" Fennell and Zack DeClerk, co-founders of CargoB, a cargo bike-sharing scheme based in the Boston area. Inspired by the Dutch program Cargoroo, CargoB, employs a fleet of UrbanArrow bakfiets-style cargo bikes for folks to check out and use as needed.
Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 The CargoB website
👉 The Oslo Whee Cargo Bike Leasing Program on-bike interview with Kari Anne Part One and Part Two
👉 Utrecht's Bike Flip Program Profile Video
👉 Boston & Cambridge 2025 CNU Tour Part One and Part Two
👉 My Personal Boston Tour with Peter Cheung
👉 Cambridge City Staff NACTO Tour 2019
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Become an Active Towns Member on YouTube for exclusive member-only content and Livestreams
2. Join the Active Towns Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month
3. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"
4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc., to help support my pro bono work with cities
Credits:
- Video and audio production by John Simmerman
- Music via Epidemic Sound
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
- Equipment: Contact me for a complete list
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
- Active Towns Website
- Active Towns on Bluesky
- Weekly Update e-Newsletter
Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 35 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving 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."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video 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 once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2025
In this episode, I connect with Michela Grasso, a researcher and writer with the Urban Cycling Institute in Amsterdam, for a discussion about some of her recent projects, including the publication of A Manifesto for Cycling Futures and Planning the Cycling City: A Field Guide.
Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 Meredith Glasser video playlist
👉 Urban Cycling Institute playlist
👉 Urban Cycling Institute website
👉 Urban Cycling Substack
👉 A Manifesto for Cycling Futures
👉 Planning the Cycling City: A Field Guide
👉 My Almere On-Bike Interview & Tour with Wouter Rademaker
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Become an Active Towns Member on YouTube for exclusive member-only content and Livestreams
2. Join the Active Towns Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month
3. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"
4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc., to help support my pro bono work with cities
Credits:
- Video and audio production by John Simmerman
- Music via Epidemic Sound
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
- Equipment: Contact me for a complete list
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
- Active Towns Website
- Active Towns on Bluesky
- Weekly Update e-Newsletter
Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 35 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving 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."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video 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 once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2025