Melissa Bruntlett

Melissa is a leader in advocacy and strategic advisory for better walking, cycling, and public spaces. Bringing together experience in communications and engagement, she uses the power of a good narrative and storytelling to shift to more sustainable and healthy communities. Lived experience in North America and Europe and working globally ensures Melissa can translate international best practices to local contexts. Sharing success stories, lessons learned, and how to adapt and evolve these ideas leads to more people enjoying spaces that improve mental, physical, social, and financial well-being. Co-author of Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality and Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives, alongside speaking, digital content creation, and communications and engagement projects, Melissa emphasizes the human stories that underpin innovation and change. She focuses on fostering understanding of how a just mobility transition starts with empathy, recognising that people’s diverse transport needs, and behaviour change is only possible when we first understand why people make the mobility choices they do. How we feel when moving through our communities influences behaviour, and the better decision-makers, designers, and policy-makers can understand this, the more equitable the solutions we create will be.