Active Towns

YouTube video by Active Towns BENTONVILLE: Solved! Coalition Building is the Secret to Move Fast on Cycle Network Installations

Here's the full on-bike interview youtu.be/d5dhKN8T-UU

YouTube video by Active Towns BENTONVILLE: Building Community Support for Bike Lanes #shorts

This is an excerpt of my on-bike interview with Jessica Pearson, Coalition Manager with Bentonville Moves (now known as Arkansas Moves), and Sara Studdard, Partner with City Thread. Link to the full interview is in the comments below
youtube.com/shorts/ocds7...

LIVE WITH WES MARSHALL YouTube video by Active Towns

SAVE THE DATE: Please plan to tune in next week on Thursday, February 12th, at 2 pm Eastern for a Livestreaming Follow Up Conversation with @wesmars.bsky.social about his book Killed By A Traffic Engineer, his new Podcast, and recent research. The Live Chat will be open
youtube.com/live/ctTkHRe...

YouTube video by Active Towns EPISODE 327 DIANE ALISA: Inspired by Not Just Bikes to Write A Love Letter to Suburbia

YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Pls tune in today, Fri, Feb 6th, at 2 pm Eastern, for my chat w/ Diane Alisa, author of A Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village, about how her advocacy for the return of walkable villages was inspired by a Not Just Bikes video.
youtu.be/HgZLbIIrR-A

YouTube video by Active Towns EPISODE 327 DIANE ALISA: Inspired by Not Just Bikes to Write A Love Letter to Suburbia

PREMIERE ALERT: Please tune in tomorrow, Friday, February 6th, at 2 pm Eastern, for my conversation with Diane Alisa, author of A Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village, discussing her journey into urbanism and her advocacy for walkable communities.
youtu.be/HgZLbIIrR-A

YouTube video by Active Towns BENTONVILLE: Solved! Coalition Building is the Secret to Move Fast on Cycle Network Installations

PREMIERE ALERT: Please tune in today, Thursday, February 5th, at 2 pm Eastern for this special premiere of my on-bike interview with Jessica Pearson with Bentonville Moves (now known as Arkansas Moves) and Sara Studdard with City Thread.
youtu.be/d5dhKN8T-UU

YouTube video by Active Towns KAILUA KONA: Is This Really the 1st Open Streets Event on Hawaii Island?

Here's the link to the full event profile video: youtu.be/OBqJOgk9j7U

YouTube video by Active Towns Closed to Cars, Open for People #streetsareforpeople

Closed to Cars, Open for People - For The Morning
ICYMI, PATH - People for Active Transportation Hawai`i organized an Open Streets event on Ali`i Drive to create a safe environment for families to ride in the Historic Village Kailua-Kona on the Island of Hawai`i.
youtube.com/shorts/reDCX...

YouTube video by Active Towns KAILUA KONA: Is This Really the 1st Open Streets Event on Hawaii Island?

ICYMI: Yesterday, I released this profile of “Kona Bicycle Day,” perhaps Kailua-Kona's first ever Open Streets Event, organized by PATH, a 40-year-old non-profit working to promote active mobility and a culture of activity on Hawaii Island for all ages and abilities.
youtu.be/OBqJOgk9j7U

YouTube video by Active Towns EPISODE 326: If You Want to Win, You've Got to Fight: A Guide to Effective Transportation Advocacy

YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Please tune in today, Friday, January 30th, at 2 pm Eastern for my in-depth conversation with @carterlavin.bsky.social about his new book, If You Want to Win, You've Got to Fight: A Guide to Effective Transportation Advocacy.
youtu.be/Uff8Hb0fcWA

Cool! That could work... living on an island, 2,000 miles away, means combining trips whenever possible. I'll be on the mainland in May for @cnunewurbanism.bsky.social and the @strongtowns.org national gathering in NWA, so perhaps a Pacific NW visit ahead of time is in order. Thanks for the intel 🙏

I can't wait... I need to figure out what month is best to visit the region... any suggestions?

Streamlined Richmond Transportation Department, safety efforts take shape Sal Orlando, Assistant News Editor The City of Richmond created a new Department of Transportation (DOT) within the Department of Public Works (DPW) in January as a response to an uptick in traffic-re...

“The DOT’s charge is to continue and accelerate the planning and design of a street network that provides safe access to all ages and abilities,” Andy @urbanismspeakeasy.com Boenau

Hey, I know that guy!

commonwealthtimes.org/2026/01/28/s...

How a Small Canadian City Tripled Cycling Rates in Just 11 Years Video: Victoria, Britiish Columbia has rapidly become "the strongest cycling city in North America that isn't widely known for it."

Nice to see Victoria, BC, and @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social getting some press - It's been fun to see the expansion of their network... my last Active Towns Tour visit was in 2017, so yeah, I am long overdue for a return trip 👇

nextcity.org/urbanist-new...

YouTube video by Active Towns KAILUA KONA: The First Open Streets Event on Hawaii Island?

YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Pls tune in today, Thur, Jan 29th, at 2 pm Eastern / 9 am Hawaii Time, for my profile on Kailua-Kona's first Open Streets Event, organized by PATH, a 40-year-old non-profit promoting active mobility and a culture of activity on Hawaii Island for all ages
youtu.be/OBqJOgk9j7U

YouTube video by Active Towns KAILUA KONA: The First Open Streets Event on Hawaii Island?

PREMIERE ALERT Pls tune in tmw, Thurs, Jan 29th, at 2pm Eastern for my profile on Kailua-Kona's first Open Streets Event, organized by People for Active Transportation Hawaii, a 40-year-old non-profit working to promote active mobility and a culture of activity on Hawaii Island
youtu.be/OBqJOgk9j7U

Survey: Most Americans Are Open To Ditching Their Cars — Streetsblog USA Automakers have spent a century and countless trillions of dollars making car-dependent living the American norm. But U.S. resident still aren't sold, a new survey suggests.

"The majority of Americans are open to living car-free even after decades of car-centric planning, policy, and cultural programming aimed at getting as many people as possible behind the wheel." usa.streetsblog.org/2026/01/21/s...

New research shows where low stress streets make the biggest difference Making streets less stressful for walkers and bikers is strongly associated with more walking and biking, and new research from Maryland helps clarify where those effects are most pronounced. Building...

"This study found that reducing traffic stress has the biggest impact for shorter trips and in places where alternatives to driving already exist." ssti.us/2026/01/20/n...

A 'Demographic Time Bomb' Is About To Go Off — And the Transportation Sector Isn't Ready — Streetsblog USA A top firm is warning that the "silver tsunami" will have big implications for the climate, unless U.S. communities act fast.

"Addressing the 'time bomb,' is about optimizing transportation as a tool to improve the quality of life for people of all ages, while creating the systems that are safer for them, cleaner for the environment, and also very much fit for a sustainable future." bit.ly/4a34JKv

YouTube video by Active Towns DAYBREAK: Car-Free Spaces, Art, and Access to Nature #activetownsshorts

DAYBREAK: Car-Free Spaces, Art, and Access to Nature
This is a short excerpt from my epic on-bike interview with Daybreak Resident, Mike West
youtube.com/shorts/yUaWd...

WEEKLY UPDATE: Aloha Everyone, Here’s my weekly update for the Active Towns Channel for the week of January 26, 2026, featuring bike tours of the Daybreak and Mueller "new urbanist" communities and a convo with Esther Walker, PhD, Executive Director of Outride.
mailchi.mp/activetowns/...

YouTube video by Active Towns OUTRIDE: Studying the Power Benefits of Cycling

OUTRIDE: Studying the Powerful Benefits of Cycling
Esther Walker, PhD, Outride Executive Director, introduces us to the research and programming of the Outride Riding for Focus initiative. To watch the full interview, click on the link in the Comments section below
youtube.com/shorts/261bI...

Ep: 9 How Walkable Streets and Active Mobility Improve Community Health | John Simmerman Podcast Episode · Cities in Motion · 23/01/2026 · 37m

I was honored to join Jacob for a discussion about Active Towns on the Cities In Motion Podcast. You can give it a listen below: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/e...

YouTube video by Active Towns EPISODE 325 ESTHER WALKER: Cycling's Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Benefits

YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Please tune in today, Friday, January 23rd, at 2 pm Eastern for my conversation with Esther Walker, Executive Director of Outride, about their work in empowering all people to experience the social, emotional, and cognitive benefits of cycling.
youtu.be/3PwMkv4swAA

Ptolemaic complexity Sometimes people are incredibly right at being wrong.

Quote of the Day: “America was not designed for the car. It was destroyed for it.”
open.substack.com/pub/thehappy...

YouTube video by Active Towns SOUTH JORDAN, UTAH: Exploring Daybreak by Bike

YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Please tune in later today, Thursday, January 22nd, at 2 pm Eastern, for an epic tour with Mike West of the Daybreak Community in South Jordan, Utah, one of the most livable developments I’ve profiled in over thirty-five years of doing this work.
youtu.be/dHW1XQ724_A

Here’s my weekly update for the Active Towns Channel for the week of January 19, 2025. Featured in this edition: A “Walk ’n Talk” with Stephanie Orman, the Mayor of Bentonville, discussing the addition of thirty miles to their emerging cycle network in just three years.
mailchi.mp/activetowns/...

Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙏 Sounds like good community feedback to help make the trail safer for everyone.

YouTube video by Active Towns BENTONVILLE: Mayor Orman on Building a Cycle Network Fast #bentonvillemoves

BENTONVILLE In this video montage, Mayor Stephanie Orman reflecting on the recent accomplishment of building 30 miles of their safe and inviting cycle network in just 3 years, sharing some pearls of wisdom and lessons, and showing us the bike-rideable Ledger building
youtube.com/shorts/9Rsnj...

It just makes sense… 👇