August 28, 2007
Walk21 Discusses Feet on the Street
From October 1–4, the Walk21 conference comes to Toronto. Keynote speaker Dr. David Suzuki will be joined by a host of academics, urban planners, elected officials and activists to discuss urban pedestrian issues. Lectures, discussions and workshops will cover the theme of “putting pedestrians first” in policies and infrastructure in order to make active transportation viable and attractive in increasingly dense urban areas.
Running concurrent to Walk21, the YWALK youth forum is aimed at getting teens involved in promoting active transportation in their communities. Taking place on October 3 at the Royal Ontario Museum, the event will offer a forum for youths to discuss walking and cycling concerns, public space issues, accessibility, and the environmental impacts of the car culture.
Walk21 also brings us the World Record Walk, which gives Ontario a chance to show Western Australia that we can get more people out on the street to walk one kilometre at the same time than they can.
As a satellite event to Walk21, Ryerson University is running their Gould Street International Student Design Competition. The university is looking for ways to design a new “pedestrianized” urban campus space along the Gould Street corridor. The design competition is open to any full-time student enrolled in any academic institution, and entries will be accepted until September 17. Winners of the competition will be announced October 2.
The Walking Life exhibit at the Gladstone Hotel, which runs from September 5th to October 4th, also takes advantage of Walk21’s presence in the city. The exhibit will celebrate “the experience of walking” through works created by artists and community members.
Registration for Walk21 is available now and closes September 25. There is a series of free pre-conference workshops taking place on October 1. Standard registration for the conference is $725 (student fee is $350) and you can attend a single day of Walk21 for $300. For more info, email walk21@toronto.ca
Photo by ariehsinger from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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Streets to Screens, the Toronto Public Space Committee's fundraising film campaign, has been invited by the City of Toronto to curate a programme of pedestrian-themed films at the Bloor Cinema on October 2 in conjunction with the Walk21 conference.
Programming is still being finalized – watch our website for announcements!
seven-hundred. fifty. dollars. jesus. christ.