Florida to Delft: Ditching Car Dependency w/ Dr. Natalia Barbour (video available)

In this episode, I return (virtually) to Delft in The Netherlands to connect with Natalia Barbour, Assistant Professor in transport and energy at TU Delft, and we have a wide-ranging discussion about her background and work, what it was like to make the move from Florida to The Netherlands, and how she and the family are adjusting to basically a car-free lifestyle after previously being car-dependent. Available in video format!Click here for the video version of this episode on our YouTube Channel  Originally from Wągrowiec a town of roughly 25,000 residents in west-central Poland, she moved to the U.S. to attend graduate school first in Alabama and then in Florida before doing her postdoc work at MIT in Cambridge, MA.She and her young family recently made the massive move from Florida to Delft in The Netherlands during a global pandemic and she reflects on the powerful role that the simple Dutch bike and having a safe and inviting "All Ages & Abilities" cycle network have played a supporting role in facilitating their transition to a car-free lifestyle while also providing ample content for her field of study in sustainable mobility options and behavior change.I first connected with Natalia on Twitter where she frequently posts about her new life in Delft. Additional Helpful Links:Active Towns Landing Page for this episodeFor more information on her research and publications visit her website Info on the Wągrowiec Bifurcation (the rare two rivers crossing)Access the Women on the Move webinar here  Passcode: !0?6d5!M Natalia is introduced at about 16:50MOOC: Towards Decarbonization of the Building and Transport Sectors | TU Delft OnlineMelissa & Chris Bruntlett, Authors of Curbing Traffic on Active Towns PodcastJason Slaughter on Active Towns PodcastNot Just Bikes ChannelNJB Trash VideoCara Seiderman/Cambridge on Active Towns PodcastFour 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 ★