[*BCM*] Livable Streets Upcoming Events!!

[Laura Kowalski]

*January 21, 2009

Hello,

Livable Streets is excited to announce two upcoming special events!  On
January 29th, we will host the first annual "Boston Bikes" update with
Nicole Freedman, Director of Boston Bikes program.  Also, on Febuary 5th, a
special "Urban Happiness" StreetsTalk will be held with Enrique Peñalosa,
former mayor of Bogata, Columbia.  Both events will be held at the Boston
Public Library. SPECIAL! Question & answer sessions to follow both talks.
Further details are outlined below.

Thanks for your time and SPREAD THE WORD!

Sincerely,*

=========================================================================
Laura Kowalski
Outreach Volunteer
Livable Streets Alliance
email: laura at livablestreets.info
phone: 617-621-1746
www.livablestreets.info
==========================================================================



*LivableStreets to host first annual "Boston Bikes" update**
**with Nicole Freedman, Director of Boston Bikes program
Thursday Jan. 29, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
@ Boston Public Library, main branch at Copley [ map... ]
<http://www.bpl.org/general/directions.htm>free and open to the public
*LivableStreets Alliance will host the 1st annual "Boston Bikes Report" by
the city's Director of Bicycle Programs, Nicole Freedman. This important
event is scheduled for Thursday, January 29, 7 pm, Boston Public Library,
main branch at Copley, mezzanine conference room. It is free and open to the
public.

The focus of the meeting will be on future steps needed to create the "world
class bicycling city" that Mayor Menino has promised. There will be
additional discussion about what could be done to significantly expand the
cycling population -- and its political influence -- by attracting "traffic
intolerant" bicyclists, by installing low-cost bike-friendly infrastructure
in all parts of the city, and by setting up programs to assure that
low-income and non-white communities feel included, among other strategies.

Over the past couple of years, LivableStreets Alliance has built coalitions
with other groups to push the city and state towards transportation policies
that create a safe, accessible, and ubiquitous infrastructure that supports
walking, bicycling, and transit options as well as appropriate car and truck
traffic.

In particular, LivableStreets Alliance members have played a special role in
helping Boston begin becoming more bike-friendly. LivableStreets board
members co-founded the Hub On Wheels bike festival, organized the Bike
Summit soon after Nicole Freedman was hired, helped convince the city to
include bike lanes on Commonwealth Ave redesign project that originally
didn't have any, and now serve on Boston Bike's advisory board.

*This event is sponsored by LivableStreets Alliance. Click here for more
information <http://www.livablestreets.info/node/1921>*



* *

*Special StreetTalk: "Urban Happiness" with Enrique Peñalosa **
**What happens when you give street space back to people?**
**Thursday Feb. 5, 6:30 - 8:30 pm **
**@ Boston Public Library, main branch at Copley [ map... ]
<http://www.bpl.org/general/directions.htm>free and open to the public**
*An accomplished public official, economist and administrator, Enrique
Peñalosa completed his three-year term as Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia on
December 31, 2000. While mayor, Peñalosa was responsible for numerous
radical improvements to the city and its citizens. He promoted a city model
giving priority to children and public spaces and restricting private car
use, building hundreds of kilometers of sidewalks, bicycle paths, pedestrian
streets, greenways, and parks. After organizing a Car-Free Day in 2000, he
was awarded the Stockholm Challenge Award and rewarded by a referendum vote
endorsing an annual car-free day. Peñalosa also led efforts to improve
Bogotá's marginal neighborhoods through citizen involvement; planted more
than 100,000 trees; created a new, highly successful bus-based transit
system; and turned a deteriorated downtown avenue into a dynamic pedestrian
public space. He helped transform the city's attitude from one of negative
hopelessness to one of pride and hope, developing a model for urban
improvement based on the equal rights of all people to transportation,
education, and public spaces.

This event is part of a 4-day series of events sponsored by Livable Streets
Alliance <http://livablestreets.info/> and the Institute for Transportation
and Development Policy <http://itdp.org/>, in collaboration with
WalkBoston<http://walkboston.org/>,
Institute for Human Centered Design <http://adaptiveenvironments.org/>, Bikes
Not Bombs <http://bikesnotbombs.org/>, Charles River
Conservancy<http://thecharles.org/>,
MassBike <http://massbike.org/>.

* *

*This is a great article about Enrique Peñalosa*:
Bogotá's urban happiness movement: A radical campaign to return streets from
cars to people <http://tinyurl.com/27x6xr> (GlobeAndMail, June 2007)