In this episode, I finally connect with Mara Mintzer, co-founder and executive director of Growing Up Boulder, for a conversation about the power of engaging children in community conversations like planning and design that for too long have been left primarily or exclusively to adults.

Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 Growing Up Boulder
👉 James Rojas
👉 PlaceIt activity
👉 My recent episode with Tim Gill
👉 My first episode with Tim Gill
👉 Urban Playground by Tim Gill
👉 My Episode with Lenore Skenazy
👉 Let Grow organization
👉 Lenore's book on Free Range Kids
👉 The Nature of Cities mini-doc
👉 Global Designing Cities Initiative Streets for Kids
👉 Mara on the TEDx stage
👉 Anxious Generation website
👉 Anxious Generation book
👉 Mr Get Out There Ryan Van Duzer
👉 Richard Louv, Nature Deficit Disorder
👉 Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
👉 Children & Nature Network
👉 Child Friendly Cities Initiative
👉 My Rotterdam ride-along with José Besselink
👉 Reimagining Streets for Activity and Belonging | Darcy Kitching | TEDxCherryCreek

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1. Become an Active Towns Member on YouTube for exclusive member-only content and Livestreams
2. Join the Active Towns Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month
3. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"
4. 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 35 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, 2026