Creating community connections
Channel: Active Towns
Date: 14/10/2022

In Ep 156, I reconnect w/ Gracen Johnson of Ottawa, Canada, for a conversation about Strong Towns, small-scale infill development, active mobility, and how having a dog enables her to meet so many people. We talk about her writing and video work in the early days of the Strong Towns organization, as well as her contributions to the Incremental Development movement. I also learned that she is originally from and initially started her running routine in London, ON, or as Jason Slaughter with Not Just Bikes likes to call it, Fake-London. 

Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
- Strong Towns: https://www.strongtowns.org/
- CNU: https://www.cnu.org/
- Incremental Development Alliance: https://www.incrementaldevelopment.org/
- Order your own STEP Cards: http://Shophouse.studio
- Urban3: https://www.urbanthree.com/
- My recent episode w/ Chuck Marohn: https://youtu.be/uiraPn8iesY
- Rideau Canal Skateway : https://ottawatourism.ca/en/see-and-do/rideau-canal-skateway
- My episode w/ Pekka Tahkola in Oulu, Finland: https://youtu.be/EPmJswNRb7s
- Pekka's channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/PekkaTahkola
- Episode landing page: https://www.activetowns.org/2022/10/14/canine-urbanism/

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Credits: Video and audio production by John Simmerman

Music via Epidemic Sound: https://bit.ly/3rFLErD

Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live: https://bit.ly/3rwsUup
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite: https://bit.ly/35DBDDU

For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
Website: https://www.activetowns.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ActiveTowns
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/SubscribeActiveTownsNewsletter

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, 2022