This summer, Portland will host the eighth annual, international Towards Carfree Cities Conference.
For the past several months, conference organizer Elly Blue and a dedicated volunteer crew have been working to solidify the program schedule, find sponsorships, and take care of the myriad tasks and tedium involved with hosting an event of this magnitude.
Official registration for the event opened today and the week-long schedule has filled in quite nicely.
The most exciting news to report is that noted transportation and livability visionary Gil Penalosa will be the featured, keynote speaker on the event’s free public day (Tuesday, 6/17).
Penalosa, who I wrote about back in July, is the former commissioner of parks and recreation for the city of Bogota, Colombia and is a passionate and respected proponent of the ciclovia movement.
Other notable events on the program so far include a depaving project in North Portland where conference attendees will convert a parking lot into a green community space, a carfree-themed art show in City Hall, square dancing in the street, and a diverse selection of panel discussions and presentations based on the event’s theme of Rethinking Mobility, Rediscovering Proximity.
Commissioner Sam Adams says, “This conference will help us bring local and international perspectives to a challenge we all share: dependence on the private car.”
The event, which will be based at Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Student Union, begins on June 16th and culminates on June 22nd when it will co-mingle with PDOT’s already-planned Sunday Parkways event.