Reflections On Our Urban Experience w/ Robin Mazumder

In this episode, I connect with cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Robin Mazumder, Ph.D., for a discussion about how we as humans respond to our built environments and how we make that experience pleasurable and equitable. Dr. Robin Mazumder, recently (October 2020) received his Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo in cognitive neuroscience studying the impacts of urban design on our health and wellbeing. Among other things, John and Robin talk about how we as humans respond to our built environments, what role access to nature plays in our cities, and how we can perhaps better understand and work productively to address our dependency on automobiles.When we think of our cities and public spaces we probably have an intuitive sense as to what places are pleasant, welcoming, and interesting but we probably don’t really think too deeply about it. Well, we hope this conversation with Robin about his work to better understand our urban experience serves to be a thought-provoking and engaging experience.Additional Helpful Links:Robin's WebsiteTwitterInstagram Robin's Addicted to Cars postDignity and Health Forbes articlePlaces of the Heart book by Colin EllardCities for People book by Jan GehlHappy City book by Charles MontgomeryCurbing Traffic and Building the Cycling City books by Melissa & Chris Bruntlett Ada County article about bike lanes in Boise and surrounding suburbsCognitive Architecture book by Ann Sussman & Justin HollanderShinrin-yoku - Forest BathingIndy Cultural TrailJason Slaughter's Not Just Bikes episodeJonathan Fertig's Taking Action episodeFour Easy Steps to Support My Efforts:1. Become an Active Towns Ambassador by "Buying Me a Coffee" or by pledging as little as $1 per month on Patreon2. If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a "thumbs up," leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and share it with a friend.3. Subscribe to the podcast on your preferred listening platform and the Active Towns YouTube Channel4. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:All video and audio production by John SimmermanMusic:Various mixes also by John SimmermanResources used during the production of this episode:- My awesome recording platform is Ecamm- Adobe Creative Cloud SuiteFor more information about my Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit my links below:- Website- Twitter- Newsletter- Podcast landing pages- Facebook- InstagramBackground: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."My Active Towns suite of channels feature my original video and audio 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 have found this content helpful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2021Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit 501c3 organization (EIN 45-3802508) dedicated to helping communities create a Culture of Activity. To donate, click here. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★