Jason Slaughter shares the history of the Not Just Bikes channel

In this episode of the Active Towns Podcast, host John Simmerman catches up with Jason Slaughter the creator of the incredibly popular Not Just Bikes KZbin Channel. He shares what led him to become interested in urbanism and active mobility, how he and his family came to live in Amsterdam, and why he decided to launch the channel.
Active Towns Landing Page for this Episode - for direct access to embedded videos we discussed: www.activetowns.org/2021/07/0...
Not Just Bikes Channel: / notjustbikes
NJB Live: bit.ly/3FnjA0X
Not Just Bikes Videos Mentioned:
What Makes a Great City - the video that started it all: • Why Many Cities Suck (...
Why Dutch Bikes Are Better: • Why Dutch Bikes are Be...
We Have No Garbage Day in Amsterdam: • We Have No Garbage Day...
Why Cars Rarely Crash into Building in The Netherlands: • Why Cars Rarely Crash ...
Why Grocery Shopping is Better in Amsterdam: • Why Grocery Shopping i...
How America Bankrupted its Cities - Strong Towns concepts: • Why American Cities Ar...
The STROADS video - Strong Towns concepts: • Stroads are Ugly, Expe...
Do Your Buses Get Stuck in Traffic?: • Do Your Buses Get Stuc...
Car Sharing: • You Don't Need to Own ...
Cities Aren't Loud Cars Are Loud - a recent video: • Cities Aren't Loud: Ca... in honor of Melissa & Chris Bruntlett's new book Curbing Traffic: www.modacitylife.com/books
Jason mentioned a KZbinr who produces videos about driving in The Netherlands - his name is Kerleem Shaw and here’s his channel: bit.ly/3fkul9w
Ryan Van Duzer's Grocery Shopping Video: • How to Carry 70 Pounds...
BicycleDutch - Mark Wagenbuur: bicycledutch.wordpress.com
StreetFilms - Clarence Eckerson, Jr.: www.streetfilms.org
Strong Towns: www.strongtowns.org
The Strong Towns Podcast Interview of Jason: bit.ly/3K2Mh6N
Strong Towns Bottom-Up Revolution Podcast Interview of John: www.strongtowns.org/journal/2...
Plain Bicycle Episode w/ Erin Riediger on the Active Towns Podcast: www.activetowns.org/2021/01/2...
Books Mentions:
High and Mighty: The Dangerous Rise of the SUV by Keith Bradsher: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_an...)
Traffic - Tom Vanderbilt: tomvanderbilt.com/books/traffic/
Miracle Pill by Peter Walker: www.simonandschuster.com/book...
Concepts Mentioned:
Downs-Thomson Paradox: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downs-T...
All video, audio, and music production by me, John Simmerman
My Personal Call To Action:
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For more information about Active Towns effort or to follow along please visit our links below:
Website: www.activetowns.org/
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Newsletter: bit.ly/SubscribeActiveTownsNe...
Background: Hi Everyone, my name is John Simmerman. I’m a health promotion professional with over 30 years of experience and my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization of how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
In 2012 I launched the non-profit Advocates for Healthy Communities as an effort to help promote and create healthy, active places.
Since that time I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be, in order 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".
This is my personal Active Towns Channel and it 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 for tuning in, I hope you find this content helpful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2022
Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. Any donations collected are used specifically to support the organization's mission.
To make a donation to Advocates for Healthy Communities go here: bit.ly/a4hc-donate

[@DJHouseArchitect]

As a Dutch urban designer working in the Amsterdam area, Jason's videos really show the more refined details where we as urban designers think about. He succesfully uncovers these concepts to a broad international audience which is great! Let's hope his videos can inspire decisionmakers around the world to be more open to human-centered urban design concepts.

[@ActiveTowns]

@SEB Urban Design, I completely agree and I do sincerely believe his work is making a difference worldwide. Thank you so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@MaximusFrisia]

Hartelijk dank voor de top infrastructuur!

[@davidschaftenaar6530]

Well, as to what you're hoping for; I'm on the town council of the Dutch municipality I grew up in. Jason's videos offer me invaluable insights into something rarely ever discussed in the Netherlands: What we've done right. The things that are worth preserving.

[@ActiveTowns]

@David Schaftenaar, Thanks so much for watching, adding to the conversation, and your service on your town council. Cheers! John

[@dimrrider9133]

Bedankt SEB voor jouw en je collegas inzet, danzij jullie kan mijn dochter veilig naar school fietsen en groeit ze op met een vrijheid die ik hoop dat die niet alleen in ons land blijft want sinds ik NJB volg ben ik erg geschrokken dat deze vrijheid niet overal ter wereld is.

[@bennicbennicbennic]

I feel like Jason’s almost immediate success really shows how important his videos really are for people.

[@ActiveTowns]

I completely agree... Note, stay tuned as I have more with Jason coming up soon, as he was gracious enough to let me tag along with him on a bike ride in Amsterdam last month. I hope you are also enjoying the content here on the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

[@macallangiunta9825]

Jason, you might never see this but I'm a young 20 something professional and you almost single handedly convinced me and my partner to leave North America. I have been completely disillusioned for so many years about how I hate living in Ottawa. Your channel opened my eyes to how amazing cities can truly be. Cheers and maybe one day I'll see you in Amsterdam. Dank u wel!

[@ActiveTowns]

Macallan, We'll pass along your note. Best of luck in your explorations. You may also enjoy listening to our podcast episode with Chris & Melissa Bruntlett who made the move from Vancouver to Delft, NL www.activetowns.org/2021/06/14/why-low-car-cities/

[@hfloor]

If you come to the Netherlands, don't live in Amsterdam! Beautiful city, but very, very crowded, very expensive and not really the Netherlands. Lots of other beautiful historic towns and villages, with exactly the same fantastic infrastructure and public transportation. And almost everybody anywhere in NL speaks English.

[@ActiveTowns]

Hennie, Yes. Good point. Personally I prefer Delft and Utrecht, but there are so many other delightful cities to consider. Thanks for the comment. Cheers! John

[@KenMcCann]

@Macallan Giunta, you're not alone! My wife and I just relocated to Amsterdam from the States and Jason had much to do with it. 👍🏻

[@dutchman7623]

@@hfloor Ssshhh... Do not tell them! The smart ones will discover this in a few days by themselves. All Dutch cities are connected by an excellent railway system, if I want to go to the bigger ones, I hop on a train that takes me to city center in less than an hour. Frequency every 10 minutes. Better, faster, cleaner than NY metro. So I can live in my middle sized town, away from tourists and other 'Amsterdam' stuff, close to nature, but can enjoy 'big city' advantages when I want to.

[@josvanzetten]

I am Dutch and live in Amsterdam. I ride my bike for more than 50 years , walk a lot, use the tram, bus and metro. And for outside Amsterdam i take the train or my car. Depending of the purpese or destination of my travel. But watching your video's I am amased how forigners are looking at the transportation overhere. For me it is totaly normal since childhood. When I see the video's of NJB and Active Towns realise I am a lucky guy.

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks so much for watching! I really appreciate you tuning in. Cheers! John

[@teotik8071]

There is an advertising on busses in my hometown saying better sitting in the bus reading the news, than sitting in the car and reading the advertising on the bus. So true. Greetings from Germany

[@ActiveTowns]

@Teotik, I love it! And so true. Thanks for watching and adding to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@hansbraam73]

I'm one of those Dutchies who watch every Not Just Bikes video. Not because I am proud of a national achievement, but, as Jason pointed out, because it makes me aware of an asset which I always took for granted. Yes, I knew the Dutch bike infrastructure was unique, but merely as a national traffic related peculiarity like those in other countries, for instance driving left in the UK, absent speedlimits on German autobahns or the Belgian road conditions. Thanks to Not Just Bikes I realised how much the biking infrastructure and the abundance of choices for ways of transport contribute to a pleasant living environment. After all those years I all of sudden noticed that there are not many countries where I could come from work by train, then step on my bike to ride home safely, walk to the florist near my house and next take the car to visit my parents 80 km away. The infrastructure makes me glad but doesn't make me proud. I was too young in the seventies to protest against unsafe traffic. I wasn't either a politician who dared to make all of this possible or a smart urban planner who realiszes it. To all that I did not contribute. Whilst writing this I must admit that I feel a sense of pride though. What makes me proud is that I, like so many other Dutchmen - and Canadians as well ;-) - contribute a tiny bit to this living environment by being pedestrian, cyclist, motorist and public transport user at the same time in stead of being just one of them hating the other ones. I guess we don't consider ourselves as 'motorist' of 'cyclists'. That doesn't define us. But the interchangeability of those capacities does. Even though we're not aware of it.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Hans Braam, Thanks so much for watching and your fabulous reflections here. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John

[@dirkjanscholtens119]

1

[@stephen_pfrimmer]

You guys did something we can afford to do.

[@userricksanchez]

You honestly have no idea the amount of people in the U.S. envy other nations and their infrastructure. We’re all being held back by politicians, corporate lobbyists, and the classic demographic of useful idiots that side with them not knowing the benefits of good quality infrastructure and public transportation. I live in quite literally the worse nation in the U.S. to go anywhere without a car. You can’t do almost anything at all on a practical level without owning a car. A car is almost a necessity and it is so dreadful dealing with them. The fuel, maintenance, insurance, and payments (maybe) take a big chunk of our income at the end of the year. It quite harms lower income communities and neighborhoods and another level compared to people who own “reliable” cars and can afford to fix their cars. It’s honestly hell where I live. Literally, lol. It’s one of the cities Jason mentioned where he has not had a pleasant experience being in.

[@Phazon8058MS]

Not Just Bikes has kinda changed my life a little bit. The video about stroads popped up in my recommended by the whims of the algorithm, and from there I dove into the rabbit hole. The video about Dutch bicycles was a big one for me. I've always liked the idea of getting around by bicycle, even with the subpar cycle infrastructure in my car dependent Canadian city, but one big barrier for me was just how dang uncomfortable the typical North American bicycle is. Those sporty hybrids put so much pressure on my arms and back that I could hardly get any distance. And yeah I imagine if I just suffered through it I'd eventually get strong enough that it wouldn't be a problem anymore, but I just didn't have the will for that. The Dutch bicycle video, especially emphasizing how comfortable those bikes are, inspired me to hunt one down. Luckily that same video highlighted the Plain Bicycle Project, a shop selling used Dutch bicycles right here in my city! So I went on down, test-rode one of their bikes, and I was instantly sold. I bought one, and now I've been cycling more than ever. A comfortable bicycle really was that push I needed to start cycling places.

[@ActiveTowns]

@MrPhazzy, Love this! These are the types of stories that keep us trying to create inspiring content. I also interviewed Erin R about the Plain Bicycle Project here: www.activetowns.org/2021/01/29/plain-bicycle/ That's cool that you got one of the bikes they brought over from The Netherlands. Thanks for watching and for the fabulous comment. Cheers! John

[@djopdam199]

I really like,,,how someone who quit trying making a better world..... Accidentally made a better world.

[@subbiasrinivasan]

Welcome to the orange pill world!

[@muovipussi333]

@@ActiveTowns 80

[@dimrrider9133]

If you really dive into the rabbithole you gonne hate the netherlands to because our leaders an king are the same as yours

[@dtape]

Thanks a lot for this conversation. I'll never get enough of getting orange-pilled with Jason Slaughter and Not Just Bikes

[@ActiveTowns]

@dtape, You are quite welcome! Dig it... "orange-pilled" Cheers! John

[@beautybrainsbrawn]

What’s orange pilled?

[@GreenJimll]

As a life long non-driving pedestrian (originally for medical reasons when I was a teenager/young man, but now by choice) its great to hear that what I think of as normal day-to-day walking around (shopping, going to my allotment, visiting friends, just going for a stroll, etc) is good for my health. I'm no athlete, I don't think of myself as fit and I've never had a gym membership, but it sounds like just using "active travel" as my default means of moving around is keeping me ticking over!

[@ActiveTowns]

@Jon Knight, Yes! The impact of natural everyday movement is truly amazing. Keep moving. Cheers! John

[@barthvos845]

My favorite video of NJB is; I'm not a cyclist. To make a change in the cities alike Jason has left think about what is mentioned in the cast; make clear what the benefits are for the people driving cars. When I drive into a Belgian town coming from the Netherlands it is instantly clear and Belgium is probably way better than lots of places in north America.

[@ActiveTowns]

Barth, Great point! Yes, that's one of our favorites as well. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@Frahamen]

Yeah Belgium is fine. It's not nearly as well planned as the Netherlands, but as long as you live in the city or in the direct suburbs of the cities you don't really need a car. It's easier if you do have one though if only to have more options.

[@paulsp8958]

@@Frahamen The biggest difference between Belgium and the Netherlands are the city centres in each and every village. That has to do with how and why a village grows. Basically it grows out from a larger congregation, in the south NL and Flanders, that were the churches. That meant roads in Belgium spread out from Catholic centres. That markedly different from the rest of the Netherlands, those had multiple faiths under one blanket. That meant multiple centres of growth. That is the reason why Belgium has a Ribbon Development as opposed to Clustered Development.

[@mourlyvold64]

@@paulsp8958 Never thought about that, it makes sense.

[@unusuario5173]

What you guys have is a dream come true compared to almost all of the rest of the world. I'm from México 🇲🇽 and I know I am.

[@randombrokeperson]

NJB randomly popped up in my video recommendations tab a few months ago and I’ve been hooked since. It’s also made me think about the neighborhood I currently live in (a city within California’s Sacramento County). It’s so poorly planned, and I now understand why I don’t even both going on walks anymore. The poor planning has also contributed a great deal to my depression, my family’s unhappiness, and our desire to get up and leave. But unfortunately the prettier places are even more expensive and/or in the middle of wasting away. Our public transit systems have made many improvements in the last 20 years, but it still takes 1-3 hours to get from Point A to Point B oftentimes, the freeways are absolutely CLOGGED now with people moving in trying to escape rising housing costs in whatever city they originated from, and we’re absolutely car dependent because even going in for a doctor’s visit requires long commutes. For California to be considered one of the international leaders in tech, clean energy, architecture etc, you’d think we’d have better infrastructure and city planning, but there are only small pockets that had effort poured into them and are maintained. Again, I live in a main county within the state’s capitol city (Sacramento). Once you leave Downtown Sacramento and the city connecting it to the main city college, everything looks pretty dank, broken down, and has a miserable vibe to it regardless of what “class” the neighborhood is supposed to house. It’s awful. I am thinking about going into the clean energy field, but with channels like NJB acting as a resource for me to better understand my feelings about the environment I live in, it may be wise for me to also get certifications in something that will place me in things that will intersect both city planning and green industries. Does this side of KZbin have a name? GreenTube or something? 7/30/22 🌙 143

[@ActiveTowns]

Hey, I hear ya. I grew up on a small "ranch" a couple of miles east of Lincoln, CA, before the area was "discovered". My mom still lives in the area (Rancho Cordova). I suppose the most appropriate label for NJB''s corner of the KZbin world would be "Urbanism" or "City Planning" as for the Active Towns Channel, my themes include a layer or context of how the built environment encourages and supports active living and/or active mobility. I hope you enjoy some of my other vids. Cheers! John

[@k20nutz]

Said it was ridiculously successful when you had 170,000 subscribers 7 months ago. Holy cow you've grown up so quickly!

[@ActiveTowns]

I know! Crazy... good stuff. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@starbase218]

How a small nation can be big. Thank you Jason, for your coverage, the quality of the material that you produce, and sharing your story.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Peter, Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@jessegee179]

Full support for Jason's work 👍 It took me two years to stop apologising for wanting to use a bicycle to get to work. My favourite quote ever was in his 'why I hate Houston' video, where he says "Don't you think this guy would appreciate a SIDEWALK!???"

[@ActiveTowns]

@Jesse Gee, I hear ya and am right there with you. Thanks so much for watching and adding to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@GaryvanderMerwe]

I loved "do your buses get suck in traffic". It was an aha moment for me.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Gary van der Merwe, Yes. That is a classic NJB vid. Thanks for watching our interview. Cheers! John

[@Basta11]

Jason you are doing an amazing job. Kinda like an urban planning prophet. Your videos show people there is a better way, a vision of a better healthier world for everyone.

[@ActiveTowns]

Jerald, We agree! Be sure to reach out to Jason directly on his Not Just Bikes channel. Thanks for watching! :-)

[@Kerleem]

54:48 That's my video! 😊

[@ActiveTowns]

That's so cool! Jason will be stoked to learn you found this.

[@lawrencefan6933]

I loved that video!

[@bikequestwithmikewest]

Great interview! I listened to this when you first posted it and then watched Jason’s “Why Houston Sucks” video. It was cool to hear the origin story of how he got into urban planning and then to watch it on the video. I also can’t unsee stroads now and at one point in my life I also drove on them without any sort of thought about it.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Bike Quest with Mike West, Thank you! Yes, I was excited to see that Jason @NotJustBikes was able to pull together that origin story vid. I hear ya, we were/are seemingly all mesmerized by the shear normalcy and ubiquity of the STROADs but now, they stick out like the sore thumbs that they really are. Cheers! John

[@danielbishop1863]

I'm from Houston, and it totally doesn't surprise me that he used us as an anti role model.

[@m0llux]

170,000 subscribers..... About 2 months ago. Now, it's at almost 300,000. Crazy. But definitely warrented.

[@ActiveTowns]

@mollux, I know... noticed that today as well. Agreed, crazy... but definitely warranted. Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! John

[@ch-de7ys]

300k around 2 years ago. Now it's almost 1,2 million. Let's keep the orange pill rolling!

[@RobinBentvelzen]

Thoroughly enjoyed the chat, thanks for the episode!

[@ActiveTowns]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

[@Galactic_Centre]

I had a blast listening to this! I don't know how much of this conversation you edited/streamlined for sake of clarity, but it was concise yet it hit all points of interests/questions one may have.

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks, Laura! Actually there was very little editing on this video version. We tend to clean things up a bit more on the audio-only versions though. So glad you enjoyed it. Cheers! :-)

[@AmericanFietser]

Wow, you just talked about reverse culture shock. Yes, it is very much a thing. It hit me hard for two years after moving back from Brazil. It still takes a toll on me, but it has died down a bit. Still, the lingering thought never goes away.

[@ashleyhamman]

It's amazing how easily this can happen. I spent a month in the UK one summer via a homestay program, and only ever took one cab the entire time, the rest was on foot, bus, or train, even to visit some obscure place in the countryside. Arriving back in the US and being a passenger in a car on the way home really activated me on "Yikes, I'm going to have to drive again and be constantly on edge about someone making a potentially lethal move. I want to get out of this lifestyle." Four years later and now here I am with a degree related to urban planning on the search for a career where I can play a role in fixing these issues.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Ashley Hamman, Wishing you the best of luck in pursuing that career which will help play a role in addressing these issues. Thanks so much for watching and keep doing what you can to make a difference. Cheers! John

[@YoureNowOnTV]

Awesome viewing ! Thanks to both of you. 😀👍

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers! John

[@captainchaos3667]

Interesting, and I appreciate the effort you put in to illustrate the audio with pictures and video clips.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Captain Chaos, Glad you liked it. Yes, whenever I can I strive to augment the conversation with some images. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@siener]

This video is less than a year old and they're amazed that one of Jason's videos has almost a million views. Today in July of 2022, his top video has 4.5 million views and several of his videos have over 2M.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes! I know, it is insane and fabulous, heck it's insanely fabulous. The Orange Pill movement is spreading. LOL 🤣 Thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoy some of my other videos here on my little Active Towns channel. Cheers! John

[@weggespamt7816]

Great talk, NJB :)

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks for tuning in, Weg!

[@lbergen001]

Hi Jason, Nice meeting you (really; Dutch answer). Your analyses are so clear!! thanks

[@ActiveTowns]

@lbergen111, Thanks for watching! Be sure to reach out directly to Jason on the Not Just Bikes Channel kzbin.info Cheers! John

[@brianwheeldon4643]

Great interview John, much appreciated. Auckland NZ btw in Auckland we have a variety of the North American style with the emphasis on private cars, and bicycles and pedestrians are a secondary consideration. One of the most frightening cities, if we can call Auckland that, in the western world to cycle and commute in.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Brian Wheeldon, Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, the car-dependency affliction has most certainly spread around the world. I believe there are efforts underway in NZ to create safer more inviting people-oriented environments, however change is hard and it's going to take time and a lot of hard work. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

[@daveoliver3515]

excellent interview. you two mesh well together, hope you do something like this again sometime. thank you for the video! subbed to activetowns too :)

[@ActiveTowns]

@dave oliver, Thanks so much for watching and for subscribing. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John

[@unclepete100]

The Dutch bicycle manufacturing sector should nominate Jason for a medal, and reward him financially also imho.....

[@ActiveTowns]

@Peter Bergs, That's a fabulous idea. Totally agree. Hehe. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@TheOnlyWabagoon]

Loved the conversation you two had! I won't be able to look at my Canadian roads the same ever again lol

[@ActiveTowns]

@TheOnlyWabagoon, Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed and I suspect that is actually a good thing, as most of our roads here in North America have much to be desired. Cheers! John

[@NeilBolandGuitaristWriter]

Looking at this in 2024 now, Jason now has 1.2M subscribers. Epic growth! I think it shows there are a lot of people who care about liveable cities and suburbs. Unfortunately, Australia has adopted the North American model regarding roads and planning, and much of our cities are horrible car-dependant dystopias.

[@ActiveTowns]

I hear ya. Be sure to check out my episode with Sara Stace as we address this challenge: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGOXoIdsdsStnsk Thanks so much for tuning in. Cheers! John

[@MrBaxterrify]

Great podcast! very inspiring and informative. Wow it opens up our minds to what is wrong with the transportation sector all over the world.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Mr Baxteria, So glad you enjoyed it. Yes, the car is a pretty amazing invention, but car-dependency is quite devastating to city and human well-being. Thanks for watching! Cheers! John

[@chriskwakernaat2328]

I love the oma and opa bikes in that dutch bikes video. When i ride on a bike with gears i am ALWAYS in the wrong one.. those bikes don't have any , perfect. backpedal brake is perfect too, no brake fading in the rain..

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes. Simply wonderful indeed. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoy some of my other interviews on the channel. Cheers! John

[@RFGfotografie]

His KZbin channel is one of the best :)

[@ActiveTowns]

Could not agree more.

[@Communistgunmc]

Jason's videos inspired me to get my family to move to The Netherlands

[@ActiveTowns]

Nice! Have you made the move yet or are you in the process? Cheers! John

[@Communistgunmc]

@@ActiveTowns We're still in the process! We're looking at housing options right now

[@ActiveTowns]

@@Communistgunmc Very cool! Don't hesitate to let me know if I can be of any assistance. Be sure to check out some of my other videos and interviews from The Netherlands. Best of luck in the process. Cheers! John

[@wgoode97]

The insight at 16:00 about not doing too much research before starting something really resonates with me. I sometimes get so far down the research rabbit hole that I convince myself out of actually doing the thing I'm researching.

[@ActiveTowns]

@wgoode97, Yes, some things ya just gotta go for it, others, like Jason's move definitely required a bit more thought, research, and test/trial (the Airbnb stays) and then, just dive in. Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! John

[@RFGfotografie]

It ook some time before his recognizable voice was heard xD That soothing/calming voice makes a part of the video's good to.

[@ActiveTowns]

Definitely :-)

[@_Matt_Matt_365_]

awesome work!

[@ActiveTowns]

Thank you... Cheers! John

[@dimrrider9133]

Jason does 2 things very good in his videos He open poeples eyes outside the Netherlands. And make Dutch people feel proud ;p

[@ActiveTowns]

He certainly does! And I'm delighted to announce that I will have a new video in the coming days featuring my ride with Jason last month in Amsterdam. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

[@WalkableCity69]

really inspiring, I am from Taiwan and anywhere else Taipei is stroad.

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks so much for tuning in! I hope you enjoy my other two videos featuring Jason as well. Cheers!

[@maidenekker]

Nice to see Jason from NJB, I follow his channel longer. He has opened my eyes about urban planning, I grew up in the Netherlands, so I don't know better then I could always bike my way to everything. I hope channels like these inspire people in other countries to change. I honestly like that a lot of American and Canadian people choose to live in the Netherlands, but on the other hand it worries me. We have a serious housing problem and ex-pats moving here and paying excessive amounts of money for a rental place, that is not benificial for the locals. A lot of local people can never afford to pay those prises. In fact people from other countries occupie living places, and it is made possible because they can afford to pay that much. I don't think that is fair.

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks so much for watching! Be sure to check out my videos highlighting the Dutch-inspired cycle network we are building in Austin. bit.ly/AustinDutchBikePlaylist I hope you enjoy the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

[@petertraudes106]

gefeliciteerd goed verhaal. tip voor een nieuwe video, de plannen van de buurtbewoners en gemeente Amsterdam met het traject Wibautstraat/Weesperstraat/Valkenburgerstraat

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks so much! We'll pass this suggestion onto Jason. Cheers!

[@petertraudes106]

@@ActiveTowns When i was in high school i was involved in the school newspaper. the IJtunnel had been freshly constructed and the old neighbourhoods around the streets i mentioned were demolished to make way for the four lane highway running to the harbourfront and the IJtunnel. I was invited by the municipality together with other aspiring teenage journalists to make a bustour through this project. Quite an experience looking back, now the official goal is to do away with this traffic sewer and turn these streets once again into social space.

[@ActiveTowns]

Wow! That's encouraging to hear. Thanks so much for sharing, Peter!

[@petertraudes106]

@@ActiveTowns This is only the beginning, mark my words. Everywhere in Amsterdam measures are taken to turn urban space into social space. But being a fan of notjustbikes you must be aware of all those bigger and smalles projects. Remarkable also is the influence of Covid on mobility filosofies in other European cities such as Paris, Berlin and Milano. Not so much in the USA I am afraid. To busy with citical race theory i guess

[@StreetfilmsCommunity]

Very nice!

[@StreetfilmsCommunity]

And I cannot predict what any of my videos will do either. I gave up 10 years ago! :)

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks, Clarence! Make what makes you happy - the rest will follow.

[@carfreeneoliberalgeorgisty5102]

I'm from Jason's hometown and I want to meet him since I'm from his hometown of fake London and am an urban planning student.

[@dutchman7623]

Maybe get in touch with the Technical Universities of Delft or Eindhoven, they have urban planning sections. Or the Academy in Breda, which also has an urban planning section. Dutch cities are organic, but also planned to avoid a mess, so there are professionals with lots of information. And all use English as well, so emails will be read and responded to. This channel doesn't accept links, but first is called tudelft, second tue, third buas, all with nl and / en for English version.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Dutch Man, Great advice... hmmm... not sure why the links are working, I'll try from my end and check my settings. TUDelft: www.tudelft.nl/en/ TU Eindhoven: www.tue.nl/en/ and I think this might be the one for Breda: www.buas.nl/opleidingen/bachelor-built-environment Thanks... Cheers! :-)

[@ActiveTowns]

@CarFreeHumanist, Just want to make sure you see the replies below. Cheers! John

[@dutchman7623]

@@ActiveTowns Yes! Those are the correct links. Every comment I posted disappeared completely after a few seconds, removed automatically, when it contained links. Dutch Universities are very active in Student Exchange, so if someone is really serious, there is a possibility to study a semester in the Netherlands on the topic you study at home. Costs are relatively low, because they are fully subsidized by the government and only a small college fee is asked from the student. Municipalities have a department specialized in road design, traffic flow, traffic lights (computerized, coordinated by a centralized system), statistics about accidents and maps to prioritize 'problematic' situations, etc. Even street lights and bulbs in traffic lights communicate with the municipality to be replaced. Older street lights are monitored by an automatic system in municipality cars that measure light intensity and report when it is low where there should be a streetlamp. All data about urban areas is available in 'Geoweb' in ridiculous detail. I do not know what citizens can see, because I am authorized to see almost everything. It would be interesting if NJB would make an appointment with a middle sized municipality to see what they have on their computers and what they do. Bigger municipalities are usually too busy to allow interested citizens to visit. But ones with 50 to 200 thousend might be willing to cooperate. Greetings from the Netherlands, and please continue to spread urban civilization!

[@ActiveTowns]

@@dutchman7623 That's a great idea - be sure to reach out to Jason directly. Thanks again! John

[@ex0stasis72]

39:31 Oh wow, that was my first NJB video I watched as well. The one about cars crashing into buildings being so common in NA that it's not even covered in the news anymore.

[@ActiveTowns]

@EX0stasis, Ho hum... nothing to see here. Just 110 people per day dying in the US and cars flying into buildings... the normalization of the violence accepted on our roads is really quite shocking once you really come to understand what's going on... you simply can't unsee it, especially the way NJB serves it up. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@RFGfotografie]

I did not listen a podcast forever, but this one is to interesting to ignore.

[@ActiveTowns]

And so very happy that you did. Cheers! John

[@Weissenschenkel]

The two channels I watch about city planning are City Beautiful and Not Just Bikes.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Weißenschenkel, Two solid channels! Thanks for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@DougGrinbergs]

21:01 yay Strong Towns! Stroad, growth ponzi scheme... 22:29 Houston suburb luggage shopping on foot - good video. Would love to look up the walkability score for that hotel. (;-) 32:11 yay Duzer! Has crazy funny video about stuff cyclists say. 37:00 Dutch bikes video - highly recommended! 43:05 book: High and Mighty - history of SUVs to skirt fuel-efficiency standards.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Doug Grinbergs, Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@richardpayne]

I'm sorry, but I can't stop imagining Dan "The Man" Levitan from Good Morning Vietnam when John is presenting.

[@ActiveTowns]

Hehe 🤣 Now I’m going to have to go back and watch that again… it’s been forever. Thanks so much for watching 😀

[@richardpayne]

@@ActiveTowns yeah me too. Great film.

[@franciswarnock8977]

Jason/John, your podcasts and videos are indispensable. I'm hoping that someday you can share strategies on how to "retrofit" the suburbs, when considering 10s of Trillions are spent on "defense" and virtually none on infra and people in this country. 60% of Americans live in nameless/faceless suburbs, most of it unincorporated, and couldn't even tell you where they are from (literally). It's one thing to live in a township/borough/city, and that's where your videos are focused. I feel like in the broader scheme of things, we have to fix the suburbs too, come up with a way to make them 'livable', at least somewhat. As pointed out in other podcasts, the few places in the U.S. that are livable/walkable/bikeable are unaffordable, so it's not like we have a choice. Thanks so much and keep up the stellar work.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Francis Warnock, Thank you! Yes, this is definitely one of our biggest challenges. Be sure to dig deep into my video and audio archives as well... there are some notable success stories emerging from a variety of places across North America. Cheers! John

[@mattf3761]

575k subscribers now ❤️❤️❤️

[@ActiveTowns]

I know! So cool to see. Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoy the Channel. Cheers! John

[@stephen_pfrimmer]

I really never thought about how bad stroads are. I only knew that I couldn't afford to live away from them. And when I was away from them, I didn't belong. A walk south on Broadway comes to mind: Just north of Washington Square Park, I turn right to get relief from the crowd, and then I don't belong. What a difference a block makes.

[@ActiveTowns]

In many ways, this sounds like a testament to human adaptability - hopefully, more time away from STROADS will become more natural and comfortable, as they are deadly environments. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

[@ligh7foo7]

I can relate to shimmying on bridges growing up on a high speed rural road but I guess there was infrequent traffic.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yeah, me too... did you catch Jason's vid that highlights that STROAD? Here's the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6ncnHxpZcuGa5Y

[@ligh7foo7]

@@ActiveTowns yeh I watched that 1. I am currently watching your interview and had just finished a run, when you guys were saying "you just need to be moving to stay healthy" 😊 It is an eye opener listening to him, I had no idea because I only know what I have grown up with.

[@Communistgunmc]

I found his channel because I was shopping for a bike and looking for tips on KZbin

[@ActiveTowns]

Well, that was one wonderful tip! Hehe

[@ageoflove1980]

Id say that the best place to implement Dutch style infrastructure is any east coast major city because these look the most like European cities and these places, unlike San Fransisco for example, are almost completely flat too, quite essential for cycling. Also these cities have a large densely populated urban core as opposed to the sprawling newer cities like Houston and LA. Also these cities typically have a relatively robust public transport system. Boston, New York, Philly and Washington all feature a good subway system which is essential for implementing cycling. These subway stations could function like hubs with good cycling lane acces and good bike parkings. This would solve the "last mile" issue : You cycle from your home to the closest station, park your bike there, preferably for free and protected. Then you simply take a train to your downtown office, shopping area or university etc... You really have to think it through and create a functioning network like this instead of just semi-randomly add cycling lanes or subway expansions. Its all about offering a convenient total transportation solution. When its cheaper, easier and perhaps even faster, the system will advertise itself and peeple will come to their own conclusions, for example making them question why they even own a car in the first place. This could even help deal with the cost of living crisis going on in the US right now. If the only thing you need is a bike and a public transport card to get where you need to go, you can save alot of money on all those car expenses.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Sander Fitzwilliam, Exactly! And this is precisely the transformation that has been underway in NYC for some time now and hopefully they can see it through. Thanks so much for watching, providing this great comment, and for subscribing. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John

[@ageoflove1980]

@@ActiveTowns Thank you for promoting the ideas The Netherlands has to offer the world. There has always been a strong historic connection between the country and the US and both got eachother a lot to offer. Thanks for the great content. Keep it up!

[@ActiveTowns]

@@ageoflove1980 I completely agree and appreciate the feedback. Have a great weekend. Cheers! John

[@basbekjenl]

As a dutch person yeah I love learning about our strong points especially compared to those American's that always pretend to be perfect. Learning the american and other car centered places are so much worse compared to the comfort I'd taken as normal most my life. Living in Brno now really made me appreciate the flatness of home and the skill of the car drivers compared to here.

[@ActiveTowns]

@basbekjenl, Thanks so much for watching and the comment. Cheers! John

[@greenmachine5600]

Don't get cocky though. Can always improve. No need to put down the US either, useful criticism is good though.

[@ActiveTowns]

@@greenmachine5600 Totally agree. One of things I love most about the way they approach creating more people-oriented places, is that they have a humble spirit of continuous improvement - they completely embrace that there is always something new to learn and not arrogant. I'm incredibly lucky to live in Austin where they have been inspired by the Dutch approach and are striving move the city forward. If you check out some of my Austin videos you can even seen the Dutch influence in the designs. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@bradleydawson9043]

I live in Houston and have bicycled a lot, mostly commuting but also recreational off road. It takes a lot of planning, map study, utilize the public transit (with the bike) and is definitely not for the faint of heart. That said, would love it if it were easier. Just get on the bike and go without thinking about it. I grocery shop by bicycle. Houston is actually trying to improve it's bicycle network with expected opposition from fossil fuel and car enthusiasts. I would love to move.

[@ActiveTowns]

Thanks so much for watching and for the comments, Bradley. Yes, Houston is trying to make it easier to ride but the challenge is massive. Be sure to check out my playlist of the changes we pushing through here in Austin kzbin.info/aero/PLG12KGQK_4xiMRS9tI-V5C-Li1NHVnO3l, and he's my interview with Rodney Ellis there in Houston www.activetowns.org/2020/08/14/rolling-down-the-road/ (audio only). Cheers! John

[@nishiljaiswal2216]

Move to austin, austin is improving its bike/transit infrastructure rapidly and is probably the best in texas

[@noidtoo9658]

I would like to know if all of your video's were also playing in the USA and canada?

[@ActiveTowns]

@No Id Too, Yes! Getting good play around the world, including in North America... we definitely need to hear this here. Hehe. Thanks so much for watching and for the question. Cheers! John

[@nayber2352]

I have been showing everyone who will listen not just bikes "strong towns" series. I think he may have pointed out the most imminent problem in America. As a libertarian, I %100 can get behind infrastructure policies that do public transportation and bike infrastructure. And I can never live in a suburb now

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes, Jason did such a brilliant job bringing these Strong Towns tenants to life. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@shannonmaire]

I live in Dallas,TX. It's a terrible place to live, I was born and raised here. But! Some of the areas where young adults live are slowly becoming pedestrian friendly. It's sad because my grandparents said that Dallas used to have busses, street cars and trolleys everywhere. Now it's endless highways. I'm thinking of quitting my job as a real estate photographer because my life is compromised quite often from driving and dogs trying to attack me.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yeah, so bummed that this has tragically happened to too many North American cities. But, as you pointed out, some neighborhoods are improving, and that is what I am hoping to profile and promote. Thank you so much for watching this video. I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy some of my other videos on the channel. Cheers from Austin! John

[@therealdutchidiot]

56:22 That picture looks like it was taken in Groningen, not even 100 meters from where I work. The reason I recognise it is because those pieces you can see on the right were repurposed as decoration from the massive road and rail works which started about ten years ago.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Ben van Velzen, My bet is that you are quite right. I believe this photo was shot by Melissa & Chris Bruntlett of Delft. I visited Groningen for a few days in 2015, but I don't recall riding on this stretch. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@Alby_Torino]

And now Not Just Bikes has 1.18 M subscribers

[@ActiveTowns]

Yup... pretty incredible. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

[@francinewillemsen7214]

The best example of designing a city with a good infrastructure for bikes (and other trafic) is Houten. Two times winner of "biking city of the Netherlands"

[@ActiveTowns]

@Francine Willemsen, I agree. Houten is wonderful community to benchmark off of when designing a village from the ground up. Thanks so much for watching and for the comment. Cheers! John

[@DanTheCaptain]

Even I, a 20 something young professional without a car am struggling through life. And yet I live in Toronto, the city voted as having the best public transport in North America. Unfortunately, my family for various reasons had to scrap our car and we've been without one for about a year. While I don't need or want a car for doing things within Toronto, my chosen career path necessitates going outside of Toronto proper. Doing so is either EXTREMELY time-consuming or just plain impossible. Thus, it's been incredibly hard for me but thankful I do plan on buying a car in the near future. I'll also add that I have a lot of friends in the suburbs (actually in other regions, that aren't Toronto), and not having a car is pretty hard on my social life.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Daniel K, Thanks so much for watching and sharing your experience. Bummed that you don't have more choices. Wishing all the best in the new year. Cheers! John

[@DanTheCaptain]

@@ActiveTowns Yes I have been looking into car sharing services and I think I found one with some cars close enough. The problem is, and I’ve highlighted this before is that most car sharing services only cover the downtown core. I’m more uptown, and only one service has car relatively close by with transit. But still not ideal.

[@franciswarnock8977]

Thanks for a great podcast, as usual. I would love your opinion of Radburn, circa 1929. I grew up and lived there from 1967-1997. Our house faced a garden park and I never had to drive anywhere. The town of Fair Lawn, where Radburn resides, was formerly a Dutch settlement known as Slooterdam: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radburn,_New_Jersey

[@ActiveTowns]

@Francis Warnock, Thanks so much. Many places that were built here in the US prior to WWII were inherently walkable... it's what we did post-WWII that's most toxic and damaging. Cheers! John

[@norberthardtmanns5058]

I'm rather sure you know urban planer Jan Gehl from denmark and already have read his books or listened to one of his speeches. He describes how liveable cities can be and what are the principles that leads you to that goal. Another question is why car drivers in particular are often unable to change their point of view or moreover change their habits and go without cars for instance. This is answered by Hermann Knoflacher. He wrote a book about his experiences as an urban planer in vienna. Unfortunately there is no english edition of his book "Virus Auto".

[@ActiveTowns]

@Norbert Hardtmanns, Yes! Jan's work is one of my biggest influences and I'm honored to say that I was able to spend some time with him a couple of years ago. Thank you for the lead on the "Virus Auto" book. Thanks also for tuning in and for contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@bengie11355]

Driving in Florida is dismal. One day I'd like to experience driving in the Netherlands. It sounds like a substantially more pleasurable experience.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Bengie, I can attest the entire mobility system, whether you choose to take transit, drive, and/or walk & bike, or some combination of the choices, just works well and they're constantly striving to make it safer and more comfortable. Thanks so much for watching and for adding to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@LDdrums20]

Man those are killer aftermarket earpads

[@ActiveTowns]

@LDdrums20, Only the best... hehe Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@LDdrums20]

@@ActiveTowns that was a wonderful conversation. I'm certainly in your team! I never owned a car and hopefully never will.

[@Basta11]

The title for the buses video should be “if your buses get stuck in traffic, your city sucks!” Or “buses don’t have to suck”

[@ActiveTowns]

LOL - nice idea Jerald.

[@iamanomas]

I grew up in fake London too but have lived in St. Thomas now for over 45 years. I love it here because it take me 5 minutes by car to get anywhere in the city and there are many ways into the city that now are quire attractive. However, I continue to be disappointed by the lack of city planning every time they build another subdivision consisting only of very expensive single family homes. They now also include bicycle paths - as well as gutter paths - apart from the streets but they don’t go anywhere. There are no stores, no restaurants or cafes en route. Everyone living in St. Thomas has to drive up town or the shopping plazas for groceries, booze, entertainment. They just finished re-doing Fairview Ave. and it looks great except for the bicycle paths along the gutters when they had the room to separate them from the road entirely. So disappointing! The other beef I have with city planners here is that they continually sound off about the depletion of good agricultural lands and advise that we should build up and tighter, not out. Yet, I never see any steps taken in that direction.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Trudi Wilson, Thanks so much for watching and the firsthand account of these challenges. When it comes to land use and transportation planning it is very hard to make a change from the status quo. Cheers! John

[@Coccinelf]

For people who never heard of the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car, go watch it now.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yep. A good reminder. Thanks for the watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

[@MrLakeTime]

4,774,036 views on his dutch bike video, 8-3-2022. 😀

[@ActiveTowns]

That's freaking amazing! 😀

[@ceuser6119]

How do we promote this active lifestyle in a place where it doesn't exist? I live in Wichita, KS and it is very difficult to live without a car. Even to reduce my driving by 15%.

[@ActiveTowns]

CE User, I hear you. It is quite difficult in most cities in North America. And it can be a challenge when then the community doesn't already have a strong culture of activity, but the good news is that it can be developed. The city of Wichita seems to be heading in a positive direction in terms of making the area more bicycle friendly: www.wichita.gov/Bicycle/Pages/Maps.aspx And you do have a local advocacy group in Bike Walk Wichita that might be worth connecting with: bikewalkwichita.org/ Thanks so much for watching and you might also be interested in some of our audio podcast episodes where we discuss many of these challenges in depth with folks on the ground making change happen: www.activetowns.org/podcast/ Cheers! John

[@unclepete100]

So true,...SUVs are the work of the devil. Here in Australia every second car is a SUV, or a monster-truck 😳

[@ActiveTowns]

@Peter Bergs, Such a waste of resources on so many levels.

[@TheJamieRamone]

I'm from Argentina...walking or riding the bike 2 get groceries is the norm here.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Jamie Ramone, Thanks for watching and adding to the conversation. Hopefully children are able to safely walk or bike to school as well. Cheers! John

[@TheJamieRamone]

@@ActiveTowns Pretty much, though there are transport vans and buses. I only ever heard of 1 fatal accident involving a bus and a pedestrian so...yeah, pretty safe.

[@carfreeneoliberalgeorgisty5102]

One thing I will say that Jason gets kind of wrong is that London Ontario is not in fact a suburb. We are 3 hours away from Toronto and there is a long gap between London/Southwestern Ontario and Toronto's western GTA suburbs of Milton and Mississauga. However London is quite spread out aside from a few compact neighbourhoods such as Old South and Old North it's mostly filled with set back single family homes and shopping centres with massive parking lots. The Metro grocery store near me is a 5 minute walk from my house but a 3rd of that walk is spent in the massive parking lot of the plaza that the store is in.

[@ActiveTowns]

Good point, it is not by definition as suburb of Toronto, but rather a typical North American habitation pattern of sprawling low density and car dependency. Hence the unpleasant walk through parking lots even though your market is within reasonable walking distance. Thanks for the reminder... I was visualizing London as being more of a northwestern suburb of Toronto. Granted it's been over 30 years since my last visit. Memories are funny that way. Thanks for watching!

[@carfreeneoliberalgeorgisty5102]

@@ActiveTowns true. Most Canadian cities are made up of low density suburban sprawl everywhere just like a lot of US towns. London isn't even the worst example of suburban sprawl I've seen. The city of Gatineau Quebec across the river from Ottawa is spread out over an area twice the size of London Ontario even though it only has a population of 287,000 in comparison to London's 400,000 people.

[@ScramJett]

Correction at 44:10, CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy...to make matters worse, for reasons that are a bit convoluted to get into, the actual EPA published mileage on the new car window stickers are LOWER than the CAFE values that the automakers have to meet. So CAFE is already more generous than than the EPA numbers, which everyone knows are more generous then what people actually get (not as bad as the Euro Cycle numbers though).

[@ActiveTowns]

@Jeff D, Thanks! Appreciate the listen and the info. Cheers! John

[@ScramJett]

@@ActiveTowns You're welcome! :)

[@fespa]

@15:24 Jason knows my son! 😆

[@ActiveTowns]

LOL - that's great. Thanks so much for tuning in. Cheers! John :-)

[@marionpaulodagang9980]

After watching this, I realized our city can be different. The question now is do our politicians have the political will to act on it :(

[@ActiveTowns]

Marion, Yes, cities can be different. For politicians to have the political will to act on it, they need to know they have a mandate from their constituents to change the status quo - hence the need to grow the movement and let community members know there is a different, better way. Thanks for watching. Please do what you can to be the change... spread the word. Cheers! John

[@MofoMan2000]

I grew up in Boulder, and dude... It's no paradise. It's a relatively cycling friendly city for sure, I used to ride my bike to school every day. But to say it's paradise is way overselling it.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yeah, Boulder's primary strength is its off-street network of pathways and generalized "culture of activity." One would think that this would bode well for on-street transformations, but alas, these have been hard to come by. The Folsom debacle from a few years ago is a prime example. Here's a video I produced with a couple of city staff members from a couple of years ago about some of the challenges, opportunities, and successes. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

[@ex0stasis72]

I used to use traffic fatalities as an argument for why X isn't that unsafe, citing that riding in a car is X times more dangerous than _____ like traffic fatalities is some sort of expected thing. Wow, has my whole perspective changed ever since I first started watching NJB about a year ago.

[@ActiveTowns]

@EX0stasis, Yeah, Jason has a way of doing that. Stay tuned for more NJB on our channel soon.

[@ex0stasis72]

@@ActiveTowns Oh, I'd better hit that bell to make sure I get the notification them!

[@ActiveTowns]

@@ex0stasis72 Oh, yeah! Much appreciated.

[@theselecter]

Great videos and great subjects Wheelchair bicycles would be an interesting subject too! I've become an electric wheelchair user and my council provides a wheelchairbicycle service. If you want know (a lot/0 more hit me up.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Joost Bos, Thanks so much for watching and the fantastic suggestion. Cheers! John

[@peterslegers6121]

This might be an interesting prelude, a video by BicycleDutch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/roSqqWZ-iM9-etE Who else benefits from the Dutch cycling infrastructure [231]

[@ActiveTowns]

@@peterslegers6121 Thanks Peter! Yes, this is one of my favorite classics from Mark. Cheers! John

[@dknowles60]

One thing should be added it cost a lot to Owen a car. If you can get by with our a car you can get rich

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes, great point! Thanks for watching.

[@lesczu45]

The problem with "Strong Towns" KZbin content is that their videos are not easily digestable. There are 1h+ long videos of zoom calls on urban planning with poor audio quality, there are those "TED Talk" style presenations where you can hear the presenter but cannot see the presenation. There are many old short videos that talk about important topics but have trouble explaining them in easily or it is difficult to follow due to how the video is edited (or not edited at all). The Thumbnails are not the best, the list of complains goes on and on. They could use somebody who could their videos for them. Great podcast BTW. I personally do own a car but I only need it for travel between cities here in Poland. The city I live in has good enough public transport so that I prefer it from driving to office in my car.

[@ActiveTowns]

@leszczu, I'm speculating here, but that may be the reason Jason did an entire series of Strong Towns videos in his very effective style. bit.ly/3yDVHAm Definitely worth watching all six videos if you haven't seen them yet. Yes, Chuck and I have talked about how challenging it is to create impactful and entertaining videos on these topics. Thank you so very much for watching and for the comment. btw I have a special bonus conversation with Jason that will Premiere at 9 am Central on Wednesday December 22nd. Cheers! John

[@lesczu45]

​ @Active Towns Yes, I found Jasons videos on accident. I was in a tram going home from work. I was looking at all the cars stuck in traffic out the window and decided to watch some "traffic" related videos. It made me notice a lot of things my city does well and not so well related to street design and urban planning. Jasons videos were soo good I decided to search for more related content. That is how I found this podcast and that is how I found Strong Towns (which he mentions directly in his videos). And when you talked about all the intricaties of making a good youtube videos I could not help but notice a lot of the problems of the Strong Towns YT content. Your channel could use improvements too :) Let's take thumbnails as an example. NotJustBikes seems to be following a couple good thumbnail making rules: 1. All his thumbnails have his NotJustBikes logo in them 2. The font is color coded and makes them stand out compared to other channels. The orange ones are iconic and I would recognize them just by taking 1s look at my recommended page. 3. The text on the thumbnail is short and easily readible. And it makes me want to click the video. Why? Lets take one of his thumbnails as an example, let it be the "Copenhagen is Great ... but it's not Amesterdam" video. On the thumbnail there is "SOMETHING IS MISSING..." text. What is missing? Well I don't know. But now Im curious. And I have to click the video to find out! See how it works? 4. Jason does not put his face in the thumbnails. Why? It is a double edged sword. If you are popular, like let's say Elon Musk, putting your face on the thumbnail will make more people want to watch it. And the other way around - if I don't know your face - I'm not watchign the video. Unless the title somehow convinces me to :) Ok. That is enough text for today. Hope you have a great day!

[@ActiveTowns]

@@lesczu45 Thanks so much for the tips! Yes, I'm a health promotion and behavior change expert learning to be a content creator. Much appreciated. Cheers!

[@lesczu45]

@@ActiveTowns No problem. English is my second language, but I watched this video some time a go and I think this person explains the thumbnails better than me: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKfEmYN-d9elhNk

[@josephinenilsson1541]

“We were considering Denmark and Norway” - Me being a Swede going “Yeah, also Sweden exist. Wtf!? 😂”

[@ActiveTowns]

@Josephine Nilsson, Sweden would definitely high on my list. We've enjoyed cycling and exploring Lund and then riding to Malmö for a delightful visit. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@henkoosterink8744]

Sweden and Norway are too cold, depressing long winters.

[@atomic.rabbit]

@@henkoosterink8744 but that's a great excuse to start drinking, and skiing of course

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

44:15 he accidentally says the letter E in Dutch (like "ay") instead of English ("ee"). Very relatable, I've done that too

[@ActiveTowns]

Hehe, pls. don’t be too brutal on my pronunciation of the Dutch “g’s”

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@ActiveTowns Don't worry, there are lots of different ways of pronouncing "g" even among native Dutch speakers. The really harsh-sounding one is mostly found around Holland and Utrecht. In the south of the Netherlands and in Belgium it's softer, and in Friesland some people use the same 'g' as in English.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@ActiveTowns Just realized that the timestamp was wrong, I was talking about Jason

[@ligh7foo7]

Hey I am a taxi driver and have similar night owly issues.

[@ActiveTowns]

I'm in awe of you night owls... I'm typically a wreck if I don't get to bed early... of course, I do get up at 5 am LOL Thanks for watching vid... Cheers! John

[@ligh7foo7]

@@ActiveTowns I am in awe of the people who can get up at 5am 😂

[@tstcikhthys]

Great podcast; it's good to get the backstory of what led to NJB being built. BTW, _kilometres_ is pronounced just like you're pronouncing _centimetres_ or _metres,_ not like "thermometers" (because it's a unit of measurement, not a measuring device). Also, "big impact" and "most impactful" are redundant; what you mean to say is "big influence" and "most influential".

[@ActiveTowns]

Thank you so much for watching the video and for contributing to the conversation. I hope you enjoy my second interview with Jason and the rest of the episodes on the Channel. Also, stay tuned, as I met up with him in Amsterdam last month and have a ride profile video coming soon. Cheers! John

[@leendertjagt5542]

i love not just bikes....but i dont love bikes😂😂😂😂

[@ActiveTowns]

@Leendert Jagt, That works. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John

[@leendertjagt5542]

@@ActiveTowns your welcome

[@moonblinked]

his last name is slaughter?? that's so cool

[@ActiveTowns]

@Fallen Leaves , Yeah. I've had a few friends and colleagues chuckle about that. He's certainly doing what he can to spread the word about safer roads. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John :-)

[@moonblinked]

@@ActiveTowns yes i love Jason's channel and now I've just been introduced to yours, which is great =)

[@ActiveTowns]

@@moonblinked Well, it is certainly wonderful to have you along for the ride. btw If you like audio-only podcasts I produce one new episode each week. Here's where you can toggle my more recent episodes: www.activetowns.org/podcast/ and here's a quick link to an archive of all my past episodes: activetowns.transistor.fm/episodes and of course you can find it on most pod-catchers out there. Cheers!

[@moonblinked]

@@ActiveTowns thank you very much =)

[@mikafoxx2717]

Jason's out there to Slaughter car centric planning.

[@ScramJett]

At around the 28:00 mark when they start talking about "active mobility," or "natural activity," or "the gym of life," I can't help but think that the concept of "exercise" came about as a terrible answer to being sedentary due to living in car dependent suburban hellscapes.

[@ActiveTowns]

@Jeff D, Although exercise, working out, and athletic training dates back to antiquity, our modern take on "exercise" in many ways is just that, reaction to the fact that we are nowhere near as active as we were in our hunter gatherer days (men walking/jogging an estimated 12 miles/day on average - women about 9 miles/day) or even in the agricultural or industrial eras. A day filled with laborious work was much more common, not to mention we typically walked a lot more. Our current reality in the suburban hellscapes tend to be centered around a lot of driving everywhere (sitting), including to the office/work (typically more sitting), and then returning home to watch TV or get online to watch Active Towns* and Not Just Bikes videos, hehe (usually even more sitting). There is some evidence that just leading an active lifestyle in general with a lot less sitting, walking and biking everywhere is perhaps healthier than being an "exerciser" and/or "weekend warrior". Peter Walker's new book Miracle Pill provides some interesting perspectives on this conundrum: www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Miracle-Pill/Peter-Walker/9781471192548 * hmmm... maybe, I should put a warning message in the videos that too much screen time can be hazardous to your health - if possible limit exposure, go outside, and get in some activity

[@ScramJett]

@@ActiveTowns Yes, I should have clarified that in antiquity, "exercise" was more of a training regimen for warriors and athletes, not so much for the "common" person. Thanks for the book suggestion. :)

[@808v1]

lol, I figured he wouldnt get through this video without saying 'stroad' :)

[@ActiveTowns]

@808v1, LOL Yeah, it was kind of baked in since I am such a big fan of that STROAD video produced as part of the Strong Towns series that he did. Thanks so much for watching and for adding to the conversation. Cheers! John

[@gstrdms]

NJB looks like nice Nick DiPaolo

[@ActiveTowns]

@gvstradamvs, Hmmm... I can kind of see that. Hehe. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

[@agnesf2659]

Jason, hope you may work for Ontario some time in the future. I live in Vaughan, ON, where the city calls it "smart city." But when it compares to some European cities like Amsterdam, I actually live in a dumb city. My husband just bought me a latest MB GLE for safety's sake. Why can't I just ride a upright dutch bike here in Canada? Sigh.

[@ActiveTowns]

I just had lunch with Jason early last week in Amsterdam, and I don't think he and his family will be returning to live in Ontario anytime soon. Probably best to share Active Towns and Not Just Bikes videos with everyone you know in Vaughan and encourage them to do the same. Thanks so much for watching. I really appreciate it, and I hope you are enjoying the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

[@telly_0]

I'm too attached to the USA to move abroad. Where can I live here that's comparable to the Netherlands?

[@ActiveTowns]

@ziz234, Thanks for watching and for the question. Well there are many cities in the US working hard to become more livable and embrace active mobility. Do you have preference as to the region of the country? Cheers! John

[@telly_0]

@@ActiveTowns Hi John! The Midwest or Northeast preferably.

[@ActiveTowns]

@@telly_0 Cool! Well if you haven't yet done so be sure to check out my videos on Indianapolis kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqPKcoWBa9-Jppo Carmel, IN kzbin.info/www/bejne/qn_NZ6SwoZqCm7s and Cambridge, MA kzbin.info/www/bejne/raDKq36Ihc6SbpY also you may find some ideas from my archive of audio podcast episodes which is much deeper than out here on KZbin: activetowns.transistor.fm/episodes

[@telly_0]

@@ActiveTowns Thank you John, I'll take a look at all of those. I may also end up advocating for changes in my current community. I don't consider myself an activist, but the status quo will persist until people who've seen how much better things could be start speaking up.

[@ActiveTowns]

@@telly_0 Yes, exactly. Don't hesitate to let me know if I can help in any way. I've been at this for the better part of 30 years. Cheers!

[@henkheemskerk4437]

If you want the people in the USA get healthier the you have to make bike lanes and teach the young to ride the bike to school sports club.

[@ActiveTowns]

Henk, Yep. Totally agree and that's precisely what we are working on here at Active Towns. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. Cheers! John

[@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920]

The sad thing about America is even the most modest changes are met with overwhelming resistance by whatever industry is set to lose even one dollar by the change.

[@zamshedrahman100]

Dutch are loved for their cyclability but why is there is lot of car in Netherland . What makes them own a car . What do they use the car for .is it for intercity travel and going to country side .

[@ActiveTowns]

Great questions… a little known fact is that the Dutch do own cars at surprisingly high rates… and there are plenty of car dependent areas of the country… the good news is that it is getting better gradually over time from the dark days of the 1970s when car dominated most every square in in the cities. Thanks so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoy the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

[@zamshedrahman100]

@@ActiveTowns Thanks John for replying , I hope will answer comment when ur KZbin channel will become more popular . I apricate the answer i am just baffle by how many cars there is .Even in Amsterdam the Mecca of Bike City .In the west anyway .

[@ActiveTowns]

@@zamshedrahman100 You are quite welcome. Yeah, I'm baffled too... especially given how expensive it is to maintain the car habit and how necessary owning a car really is.

[@koramawin6134]

the weekly grocery culture is toxic. you dont need to buy for all 7 days if stores are accessible.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes. Precisely. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

[@tillylovesholland1161]

Sadly here in Nederand the SUV us a rising star and pick up trucks too. They dont belong in our enveirome t. Some cities they are not alowed to enter anymore

[@ActiveTowns]

Totally agree. Thanks for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

[@tillylovesholland1161]

@@ActiveTowns thank you. Yes i liked the video. Its allways nice yo see how People can inspire others for a better and healthier live. I follow not just bikes from the start and post the link to his channel everywhere since where i think that is needed. You allready found it thats good. As a Netherlander its nice to see how our system is not so bad. Its gas decayed though because of a right winged suro minded political party. Public transport is less than it was and especially in the outback its has mostly dissapared. Its a major issue right now in the campagnes for the upcoming elections. People want there public transport back and the price of that transport needs to fall. So there is allway room for inprovement and in this case restauration. So i understand your mission. As a Netherlander i can see fir what we still have i appriciate vrry much. Its so niceyogo kn your bike everywhere. Apart from haalt fysically its alkso good for the mind. Its practical and fast enough to go where you want. I myself have a bikes you can fold so i can take it on the train. Foldingbikes are free to transport on a train. When i arrive on my destination i stretch it out and go wherever i need to go. No need to wait for a bus when there is one. I feel do rich when i travel like that. I have a licence and i had a car. But when that needed to go it was no problem because of all the other posdibilities. I wish this for everyone to be alle to experience that. Its better for your healt, mind, wallet and inveiroment. There isa programm what pays good attention to the riddiculness of rightwinged politicians who cry about car adjustments in benefit of the enveiroment. You can watch this too there are subtitles available. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWrKhaCBqbxpeJIsi=4rXce6PHLKmjXK5N. I think humor is a good way to let People think differently. Good Lucky with your channel. Keep looking for your soulmates on this subject so your movement can grow to the level they can not avond you any longer Take care

[@ActiveTowns]

@@tillylovesholland1161 Thanks so much! Yeah, I love my Brompton folding bike for my frequent trips to The Netherlands. Cheers! John