<div><strong><font face="Garamond" size="4">Hello Critical Mass,<br> <br>This is a friendly reminder that Livable Streets Alliance is hosting a special event, "Urban Happiness" with Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá, Columbia this Thursday Feb. 5 6:30pm at the Boston Public Library - see press release below. We invite all to come listen to this urban visionary speak about his revolutionary improvements to the city of Bogotá. Come and learn about giving street space back to people!<br>
<br>See you there!</font></strong></div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><font size="3">PRESS RELEASE</font></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 3"> </span></span></b></span><font size="3"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">Contact:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> Jackie Douglas</span></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">January 2009 <b>Phone:</b> (</span>617) 621-1746</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span><b>E-Mail:</b> </font><a href="mailto:jackie@livablestreets.info"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">jackie@livablestreets.info</font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 2.5in; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">URL:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> <a href="http://www.livablestreets.info/">http://www.livablestreets.info</a> </span></font></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">LIVABLESTREETS ALLIANCE TO HOST FORMER BOGOTA, COLOMBIA MAYOR AND URBAN VISIONARY, ENRIQUE PENALOSA</font></font></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Enrique Peñalosa will be giving a free talk, hosted by LivableStreets Alliance, at the Boston Public Library at Copley about his vision for urbanism that transformed Bogota into a lively public space.</font></font></i></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">BOSTON</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">, MASS.</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> (January 23, 2009)</b> – Livable Streets, a non-profit that promotes "Rethinking Urban Transportation", will be hosting the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, Enrique Peñalosa on February 4-7, 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0.25in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">An accomplished public official, economist and administrator, Enrique Peñalosa completed his three-year term as Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia on December 31, 2000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While mayor, Peñalosa was responsible for numerous radical improvements to the city and its citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He received the Stockholm Challenge Award for organizing a Car-Free Day in 2000 and a referendum vote then endorsed it annually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As part of the pico y plata license plate restriction program, he removed 40% of cars during peak hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>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.</font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">LivableStreets Alliance is a non-profit organization that believes urban transportation has the power to make Boston a more connected, livable city. We challenge people to think differently and to demand a system that balances transit, walking, and biking with automobiles. We promote safe, convenient, and affordable transportation for all users in urban Boston. Streets that are enjoyable to use will better support neighborhoods and small business districts. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>LivableStreets believes that to remain a competitive, world-class city, Boston needs a world-class transportation network, one that makes our city a better place to live, work, and play. <span style="COLOR: black"></span></font></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The talk will be held at Boston Public Library, Copley Square at 6:30 pm and is free and open to the public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For more information, visit </font><a href="http://www.livablestreets.info/"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">www.livablestreets.info</font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> or call Jackie Douglas at 617.621.1746.</font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">For a flyer about the event, visit </font><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><a href="http://www.livablestreets.info/files/Penalosa_5feb09_BPL.pdf">http://www.livablestreets.info/files/Penalosa_5feb09_BPL.pdf</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"></span></font></p>
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<p><font face="garamond,serif" size="4"><strong>Sincerely,</strong></font></p>
<div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>==============================<br>Laura Kowalski<br>Outreach Volunteer<br>Livable Streets Alliance<br>email: <a href="mailto:laura@livablestreets.info">laura@livablestreets.info</a><br>617-621-1746<br>
<a href="http://www.livablestreets.info">www.livablestreets.info</a><br>==============================<br><br></div>