In this episode, I welcome back Tim Gill, the author of the book Urban Playground, for an encore conversation about the need for more family friendly places that reduce car dependency and return independence to roam to our children, elderly, and those unable to drive a motor vehicle.

Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and be sure to subscribe to the Active Towns Channel on YouTube for more content, or if you prefer, you can find and subscribe to the Pod on most major Podcatcher listening platforms.

Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 Previous Episode with Tim Gill and the Episode Landing Page
👉 Urban Playgrounds book in the Active Towns Bookshop and on Amazon
👉 Most recent episode with Peter Norton
👉 Episode with Isabelle Clement Wheels for Wellbeing
👉 Episode with Anna Zivarts
👉 Wes Marshall’s livestreaming episode
👉 Killed by a Traffic Engineer book in the Active Towns Bookshop or on Amazon
👉 Episode on Indigo
👉 Profile of Culdesac
👉 My episode with Cyprine Odada Mitchell in Nairobi, Kenya

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. Join our Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month
2. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also “leave a tip” through “Buy Me a Coffee”
3. 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 30 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