Type Ashton

Welcome Back in the New Year!

This week, I'm continuing with Part 2 in my series: "Americans, Explained", where I'm diving into the religion of American athletics to ask the question: Why do Americans Worship Sports?

According to a recent study - 50% of Americans believe that "God" or a "divine being" plays a significant role in the outcome of the Super Bowl.

But explaining America’s devout obsession with athletics in comparison to Europe, isn’t just about drawing parallels between the sacred and sport, but understanding just how fundamentally "God-Like" most Americans view their athletes and the ripple effect it has on the individual, the family, and society as a whole.

I hope you enjoy this week's video and am looking forward to your thoughts on this phenomenon as well!

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 34

Type Ashton

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2024 has been a whirlwind of a year and I am so grateful and thankful for your support and the community we have created here on YouTube. Behind the scenes, my family and I have been soaking up the holiday Christmas markets in the Southern Black Forest from Triberg to Haslach, Gengenbach to Freiburg. And we were especially excited to (finally) share our love of Glühwein with our families who have visited from the USA.

To cherish this time together and enjoy the family festivities, I’m taking a bit of a social media break. There will be no video this week and my usual posting schedule will resume on Sunday, January 12th.

As I look forward to 2025, I’m excited for the opportunities and subjects to “deep dive” into together. See you in January!

Ashton

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 977

Type Ashton

Obviously, Europe faces some unique challenges when designing for those with disabilities.

We are working with buildings, streets, and infrastructure that are hundreds of years old - cobblestoned sidewalks are sometimes very narrow and don’t have curb cuts.

Entrances that are above or below grade and doors that are definitely not wide enough for a wheelchair.

But even more modern establishments and infrastructure systems that have been adopted, can still be frustrating to use if you are one of the 101 million people living with some form of a disability in the European Union.

But why? Does it have to be this way? Why doesn't Europe have strong accessibility regulations like the USA?

That’s what I set out to understand… speaking with those living with, designing for, and advocating for disabilities, across the continent in what is my most comprehensive and biggest video to date.

So make a note in your calendar and join me this Sunday and watch LIVE together at 9:00 CEST. Inside the Youtube Video you'll find a live chat a the video premiers and we can watch together as I head to Paris, Vienna, Glasgow, Amsterdam and beyond to get a first hand look at these issues.

6 months ago | [YT] | 192

Type Ashton

The loneliness epidemic that many are experiencing is exacerbated by the way communities are built, experts say. But design fixes could be close at hand.

Check out this awesome video by Mike at ‪@strongtowns‬ and you might just see a familiar face 😉

https://youtu.be/pmf_JIGQecE?si=LeYGD...

7 months ago | [YT] | 183

Type Ashton

For the last week I've been out and about around the Netherlands (hint at new content coming soon 😍)

But these benches caught my eye at the Central Station in Utrecht. This week's video I talk about the increasing use of "hostile architecture" in my city and cities around the globe.

Interestingly, just as much as these designs are intentionally trying to make it uncomfortable to sit or lie down, they are also intended to not be noticed.

Here in Utrecht, these arm rests were intentionally added so that you cannot lie down on this bench.

Check out this week's video for a walk through of my city of Freiburg and you'll notice all kinds of "uncomfortable" design choices, including awkward benches, homeless spikes, and the cost of these measures.

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7 months ago | [YT] | 202

Type Ashton

Employment law, workplace relationships and workers rights have undergone some pretty systematic and fundamental changes within the last few decades, especially in our ever-connected, digital age.

So what's up with the movement to enshrine a workers "right to disconnect" in Europe? And could the US be next?

Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/C4GOekfDrOQ

8 months ago | [YT] | 194

Type Ashton

Happy Sunday!

Just a friendly reminder this morning that I am still keeping my every-other week posting schedule for the time being. So if you haven't already caught last week's episode on Leipzig, be sure to check it out! At the heart of this video was story of city re-densification and how it not only protects the natural land, but also promotes extremely efficient and low-impact places to live.

You can watch the video at the link here: https://youtu.be/sZh22g39d4M

I also want to give a special shout-out to my supporter's on Patreon: www.patreon.com/TypeAshton

Taking the time off and posting every-other week does come with some downsides, namely angering the Youtube algorithm who doesn't like the irregularity so much. But thanks to your support, I am able to better balance work/life and keep the quality up on the videos during this time.

So this weekend, instead of stressing at trying to hastily put out a video, I was able to enjoy some fun and bike with the family to a "Heimat Festival" in the Black Forest. So much fun!!

What kind of things are you up to this weekend?

8 months ago | [YT] | 529

Type Ashton

Happy Sunday!

The week-on, week-off schedule has been working quite well for me lately. Not only does it give me more flexibility with work-life balance with Theo at home (can you believe he is almost one?!), but it also gives me time to add in more detail, first-hand videography and research to my videos.

Case in point: Next Week's Video!

As an old trading and university city as well as an industrial city, Leipzig was the fifth largest city in Germany before the Second World War with a population of about 700,000. During the war, however, the number of inhabitants fell sharply and in the decades that followed Leipzig became one of the few major European cities with an almost continuously declining population.

By 1989, only 530,000 people still lived in Leipzig, And after the opening of the Wall between east and west Germany, the city lost more than thirty thousand inhabitants in the following 14 months alone in a mass exodus to the more prosperous western states. Coupled with the rapid and transitionless integration into the EU and the world market, as well as the economic and political shock therapy, the city was de-industrialised by about 80% and mass unemployment followed.

By the turn of the century, Leipzig gained the unfortunate nickname as the “capital of poverty” in Germany, and one in five homes within the city were vacant. Which is extraordinary. (Paritätischer Gesamtverband 2020).

Between 2011 and 2019, the annual population increase ranged from 10,000 to 16,000 people, which corresponds to 2% to 2.5% growth… in fact, it even reached 3% at the peak in 2016. From 2011 to 2020, the total increase in population was around 96,000 people or 17.4%. This means that Leipzig grew by almost as many inhabitants in the 2010s as it shrank in the 1990s.

For some time in the 2010s, Leipzig was actually the fastest-growing major city in Germany, the paradigmatic example of a “swarm city”.....that’s right - the city that was nicknamed the “Capital of Poverty” became the poster child of urban growth and renewal.

And what might be even MORE interesting is that the vast majority of these new residents were moving to the largely redeveloped Gründerzeit inner-city districts... not NEW developments.

So what EXACTLY was going on? And how has the city managed to transform the nearly 70,000 vacant apartments and 3000 brownfield sites into a desirable urban neighborhood with green spaces?

THAT is what I traveled all the way to Leipzig to explore and I am so excited to share the video with you next week. So while I do not have a new video for you today, I hope you tune in next Sunday to explore this city with me.

See you next Sunday!

Ashton

9 months ago | [YT] | 350

Type Ashton

Happy Sunday!

This week has been a bit of a whirlwind with my attention needed first and foremost with my little ones. Thankfully all is good on the home-front, but our oldest has had a bit of a rough adjustment to Kindergarten and we are taking the transition easier/slower than anticipated.

I'm going to take the Sunday off from posting and postpone the video until next week. I sincerely appreciate your understanding with the lower output, but I think this will give me the flexibility to keep up a higher standard of quality for the videos while balancing my "first" job as Mommy.

Thanks ❤️ and Wishing you all a great weekend!

-Ashton

P.S.

I took this photo while hiking at Schluchsee last weekend. It is finally starting to feel like Spring again!

10 months ago | [YT] | 532

Type Ashton

I need your help on an upcoming video!

I'm working on a video discussing the pretty significant difference in Universal Design standards between the USA/Canada and European countries (i.e. accessibility laws and standards and how that impacts the urban environment/architecture).

Something I noticed right away when I moved to Germany was how much less inclusive design was for those with disabilities. Outside historical buildings (which of course, have their own challenges in adapting to modern design regulations), even more modern structures (i.e. the Hauptbahnhof) were extraordinarily difficult to navigate.

Of course, I can talk about this topic as someone in the design industry - but I would love to talk to others who have a lived experience with a disability and navigating life in Europe. If you are comfortable being on camera and live in the Freiburg area (100km radius) and/or can jump on a video call which I can record and share in a video - please reach out to me at:

typeashton[at]gmail.com

10 months ago | [YT] | 200