[All] 8-80 talk tonight

[Susan Koswan]

Hi GRENers,

I went to hear Gil Penalosa from 8-80 Cities http://www.8-80cities.org/
tonight at Waterloo City Hall. It was a well-spent 2 hours! 

 

In short, their goal is to advise and promote people-oriented communities.
Essentially, if you make a city safe and accessible for both ends of the
spectrum - from the 8 year old child to the 80-year old senior, you have
succeeded. Everyone walks - whether they take pubic transit, or walk from
the parking lot to a place of employment so cities must be designed first to
make a city walkable and safe for pedestrians, then for bicyclists, then for
cars. 

 

Speed limits need to be reduced, parking lots need to become public squares,
activity needs to increase at street level, building height should not
exceed the width of the road, bike lanes should not be between parking spots
and traffic, car-free Sundays are declared on a regular basis in areas of
many urban centres now, including New York City. He said the main reason
people were biking in Copenhagen was because it was made easier, cheaper and
faster than other modes of transportation. There was a fabulous 3 panel
slide that showed 75 people and how many private cars, buses, bikes it took
to move them - it was a great visual! 

 

Anyway, I could go on, but just check out the website because it's packed
with great examples of what we can do.

 

Susan K

 

pareto2080: The Return of Pareto

by Susan Koswan

Treehuggers. 

The 80/20 Rule. 

One long weekend... 

 <http://www.volumesdirect.com> www.volumesdirect.com or
<mailto:dandelion at gto.net> dandelion at gto.net 

In Waterloo Region bookstores and libraries. Now on Kindle!
<http://www.amazon.com> www.amazon.com

 

 

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