Snotrac Speakers: Melissa & Chris Bruntlett - "Creating Age- & Ability-Friendly Cities"
Channel: Snohomish County Transportation Coalition
Date: 2023-05-18

Melissa and Chris Bruntlett are Canadian authors and urban mobility advocates who strive to communicate the benefits of sustainable transport and inspire happier, healthier, more human-scale cities. 

Their first book, “Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality,” explored the urban and transport planning decisions that established the Netherlands as a bicycle paradise, and how North American communities are translating these ideas to build their own cycling cities.  

Their most recent book, “Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives,” focuses on how cities can be child-friendly, connected, trusting, feminist, hearing, therapeutic, accessible, prosperous, resilient, and support older adults.

In 2019, Melissa and Chris, along with their children Coralie and Etienne, relocated from Vancouver, Canada, to Delft in the Netherlands. Melissa now works with Mobycon—a bicontinental mobility consultancy—supporting the promotion of Dutch transport knowledge, policy, and design principles in countries across Europe and North America. As communications manager for the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Chris uses his knowledge and passion to share practical lessons for global cities wishing to learn from the Netherlands’ extraordinary success. 

Books:
- Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives, https://islandpress.org/books/curbing-traffic
- Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality, https://islandpress.org/books/building-cycling-city