Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this episode excerpt, Diane Alisa Tuft, author of A Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village, discusses her journey into urbanism and her advocacy for walkable communities and the return of villages. As part of this journey, we discuss how a specific Not Just Bikes video opened her eyes to what was making her so frustrated and miserable. Here's the full episode: youtu.be/HgZLbIIrR-A
Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 Diane Alisa on Instagram: instagram.com/diane_alisa
👉 Are American Suburbs to Blame for Everything? theamericanconservative.com/are-americas-suburbs-to-blame-for-everything
👉 Buy A Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village
bookshop.org/a/85379/9798991918329 or via Amazon and Audible versions here: amzn.to/45SfMou
👉 Strong Towns: strongtowns.org
👉 Urban 3: urbanthree.com
👉 The Strong Towns episode feat. Diane Alisa: podcast.strongtowns.org/e/has-the-american-dream-made-us-miserable
👉 My Daybreak New Urbanist - Walkable, Bikeable Community video with Mike West: youtu.be/dHW1XQ724_A
👉 Salt Lake City Playlist of videos: bit.ly/4jgKXiw
👉 The Not Just Bikes video that started it all, Why We Won't Raise Our Kids in Suburbia: youtu.be/oHlpmxLTxpw
👉 My Tim Gill episodes - Safe for kids means safe for everyone: youtu.be/zDE1uHWh4W8 and The Battle to Break Free from Car Dependency and Return Childhood Independence youtu.be/ExA58Pf2edU
👉 Jason Slaughter with @NotJustBikes and I are discussing the Suburban Cul-de-Sac development pattern and unnecessarily long trips: youtu.be/sBRS4Mqg7To?si=d13BvUrGSCcT-QVx&t=1724
👉 My Strong Towns Playlist: bit.ly/StrongTownsPlaylist
👉 My Live With Friends episode with Phil Levin: youtu.be/y7pMq2piO1I
👉 Pocket Neighborhoods Video with Ross Chapin: youtu.be/i7TnrbMCLGY
👉 Oulu videos with @PekkaTahkola youtu.be/EPmJswNRb7s and the shortened version: youtu.be/HlhNk5tn878
👉 My episode with Lenore Skenazy of Free Range Kids and Let Grow: youtu.be/Tu58o_AFefA
👉 Urban Cycling Institute Gender Differences report: urbancyclinginstitute.substack.com/p/two-cities-different-rides-exploring
👉 My episode with Ian Walker on Motonormativity: youtu.be/S4arpOnWuIE
👉 My episode with Jon Jon W - The Happy Urbanist: youtu.be/7AZaDf_NZYE
👉 My episode with Coach Sam Balto on the Bike Bus movement: youtu.be/S9twSCBYZu0
Thank you so much for watching! If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs-up, leave a comment below, and share it with a friend. If you'd like more content like this, please subscribe to the Active Towns Channel, and be sure to "Ring" that notification bell to select your notification preferences.
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Channel, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Become a Member of Active Towns right here on YouTube by clicking on the Join button and selecting the level that best suits you
2. Join the Patreon community: patreon.com/activetowns
(Note: Patron benefits include early, ad-free access to all my video content)
3. If you enjoyed this video, you can also "leave a tip" by clicking on the Super Thanks button right here on YouTube or through "Buy Me a Coffee" buymeacoffee.com/activetowns
4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. at activetowns.org/donate
Credits: Video and audio production by John Simmerman
Music via Epidemic Sound: bit.ly/3rFLErD
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live: bit.ly/3rwsUup
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite: bit.ly/35DBDDU
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
Website: activetowns.org
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/activetowns.bsky.social
Newsletter: bit.ly/SubscribeActiveTownsNewsletter
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.
Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2026
In this episode excerpt, Diane Alisa Tuft, author of A Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village, discusses her journey into urbanism and her advocacy for walkable communities and the return of villages. As part of this journey, we discuss how a specific Not Just Bikes video opened her eyes to what was making her so frustrated and miserable. Here's the full episode: youtu.be/HgZLbIIrR-A
Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
👉 Diane Alisa on Instagram: instagram.com/diane_alisa
👉 Are American Suburbs to Blame for Everything? theamericanconservative.com/are-americas-suburbs-to-blame-for-everything
👉 Buy A Love Letter to Suburbia: How to Restore the American Village
bookshop.org/a/85379/9798991918329 or via Amazon and Audible versions here: amzn.to/45SfMou
👉 Strong Towns: strongtowns.org
👉 Urban 3: urbanthree.com
👉 The Strong Towns episode feat. Diane Alisa: podcast.strongtowns.org/e/has-the-american-dream-made-us-miserable
👉 My Daybreak New Urbanist - Walkable, Bikeable Community video with Mike West: youtu.be/dHW1XQ724_A
👉 Salt Lake City Playlist of videos: bit.ly/4jgKXiw
👉 The Not Just Bikes video that started it all, Why We Won't Raise Our Kids in Suburbia: youtu.be/oHlpmxLTxpw
👉 My Tim Gill episodes - Safe for kids means safe for everyone: youtu.be/zDE1uHWh4W8 and The Battle to Break Free from Car Dependency and Return Childhood Independence youtu.be/ExA58Pf2edU
👉 Jason Slaughter with @NotJustBikes and I are discussing the Suburban Cul-de-Sac development pattern and unnecessarily long trips: youtu.be/sBRS4Mqg7To?si=d13BvUrGSCcT-QVx&t=1724
👉 My Strong Towns Playlist: bit.ly/StrongTownsPlaylist
👉 My Live With Friends episode with Phil Levin: youtu.be/y7pMq2piO1I
👉 Pocket Neighborhoods Video with Ross Chapin: youtu.be/i7TnrbMCLGY
👉 Oulu videos with @PekkaTahkola youtu.be/EPmJswNRb7s and the shortened version: youtu.be/HlhNk5tn878
👉 My episode with Lenore Skenazy of Free Range Kids and Let Grow: youtu.be/Tu58o_AFefA
👉 Urban Cycling Institute Gender Differences report: urbancyclinginstitute.substack.com/p/two-cities-different-rides-exploring
👉 My episode with Ian Walker on Motonormativity: youtu.be/S4arpOnWuIE
👉 My episode with Jon Jon W - The Happy Urbanist: youtu.be/7AZaDf_NZYE
👉 My episode with Coach Sam Balto on the Bike Bus movement: youtu.be/S9twSCBYZu0
Thank you so much for watching! If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs-up, leave a comment below, and share it with a friend. If you'd like more content like this, please subscribe to the Active Towns Channel, and be sure to "Ring" that notification bell to select your notification preferences.
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Channel, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Become a Member of Active Towns right here on YouTube by clicking on the Join button and selecting the level that best suits you
2. Join the Patreon community: patreon.com/activetowns
(Note: Patron benefits include early, ad-free access to all my video content)
3. If you enjoyed this video, you can also "leave a tip" by clicking on the Super Thanks button right here on YouTube or through "Buy Me a Coffee" buymeacoffee.com/activetowns
4. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc. at activetowns.org/donate
Credits: Video and audio production by John Simmerman
Music via Epidemic Sound: bit.ly/3rFLErD
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live: bit.ly/3rwsUup
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite: bit.ly/35DBDDU
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
Website: activetowns.org
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/activetowns.bsky.social
Newsletter: bit.ly/SubscribeActiveTownsNewsletter
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.
Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2026
