The secret to Oulu's suburban cycling success story
Channel: Active Towns
Date: 2022-06-11

This is a vastly shortened version of my live interview recording of a ride w/ Pekka Tahkola in Oulu, Finland on that city's comprehensive, cohesive, and connected off-street network of bike and pedestrian facilities that are appropriate for All Ages & Abilities. 

Oulu is a city of 200,000+ residents and largely built in a sprawling suburban context and this network proves that people of all walks of life, in impressive numbers, will ride all year round when that network is safe and inviting and well maintained.

You can access the full-length interview: https://youtu.be/EPmJswNRb7s

Watch to see how they do it and pay particular attention to their approach to avoiding direct conflicts with cars completely, strategically using buffering to lessen motor vehicle noise nuisance levels, and dedication to maintenance, especially in the snowy conditions of wintertime.

Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
- Pekka's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/PekkaTahkola
- Pekka on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pekkatahkola
- Velo Finland conference https://pyoraliitto.fi/en/velofinland
- Pekka's consulting firm: https://navico.fi/en/home/

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Credits: Video, music, and audio production by John Simmerman

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

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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