The connection between health outcomes and transport options in Smart Communities, with Monica Olyslagers

Summary: In this episode, I have a fascinating conversation with Monica Olyslagers, the Safe Cities Specialist at iRAP, the International Road Assessment Programme. Monica tells us how moving to Ho Chi Min City at the age of 12 sparked her interest in Cities, and why she is so passionate about cycling and the involvement of women in the transport sector. Monica explains a bit about the work IRAP does in assessing star ratings for road safety for different road user groups. For the past four years, Monica lived in Beijing, China at a time when the city experienced its very own "bicycle revolution" driven by new technologies and we discuss some of the projects she's worked on there. Monica and I also cover the enormous challenge of improving road safety, and how improving health outcomes in the community is inextricably linked with improving transport options. We finish our conversation discussing the need to question emerging technology trends in light of what kind of world we actually want to live in in the future. As always I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it. Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Monica on LinkedIn Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod