Three key note speakers have been confirmed for Velo-city Global 2014, the world’s premier international cycling planning conference that will be hosted in Adelaide next year.
Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City’s Department of Transportation Commissioner, Mikael Colville-Anderson, CEO of Copenhagenize and Ethan Kent, Vice President, Project for Public Spaces (PPS) will present to delegates from around the world on best practices for creating and sustaining cycling-friendly cities where bicycles are valued as part of daily transport and recreation.
Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood said the speakers were internationally recognised and respected experts in cities.
“The three speakers have brought about significant change in cities throughout the world, including converting some of the busiest parts of New York City to pedestrian and cyclist zones, building the cycling culture that Copenhagen is now famous for, and working to support Placemaking projects and organisations around the world.
“Adelaide Velo-city Global 2014 will be much more than just a conference. We are planning a range of community events, activities and programs during the conference and beyond.
“As well as delivering an economic boost to the state, it will cement Adelaide’s reputation as a vibrant, cycle-friendly city. More people on their bikes will lead to healthier community and city,” Stephen said.
Minister for Road Safety Michael O’Brien MP said that hosting Velo-city will raise the importance of improving safety for cyclists.
“Some of the most respected and intelligent minds when it comes to planning and improving our city’s cycling network will be sharing their expertise.
“Hosting the conference right here in Adelaide will help us plan improvements to cycling infrastructure to ensure greater safety, which will spur on even more people to take up cycling,” he said.
Current cycling projects include the Frome Street Bikeway which will incorporate separated kerb-side bike lanes and street upgrades, the continued installation of bike boxes that give cyclists right of way at busy city intersections, reallocating road space to create buffers between cars and bike lanes, and the greening of bike lanes into and throughout the city.
To find out more about Velo-city 2014, please go to www.velo-city2014.com.
Bios – Velo-city Global 2014 key note speakers
Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City’s Department of Transportation Commissioner
Janette Sadik-Khan has served as the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) since April 2007. She has implemented an ambitious program to improve safety, mobility and sustainability throughout New York City, and to ensure a state of good repair on all of the Department’s roads, sidewalks and bridges.
Beginning with Sustainable Streets, DOT’s first strategic plan published in 2008, Sadik-Khan has implemented a series of innovative projects: the creation of Broadway Boulevard, new Select Bus Service Routes in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, the installation of 23 plazas, the addition of over 285 miles of on-street bike lanes, car-free summer streets, weekend pedestrian walks and the publication of a “Street Design Manual” and a “Street Works Manual” that define new standards for creating more durable and attractive streets.
Under Sadik-Khan’s leadership, DOT has received awards from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Women’s Transportation Seminar, the Municipal Arts Society, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize.
Sadik-Khan’s contributions to public service and the field of transportation have been recognized with awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, the American Institute of Architects, the Municipal Arts Society, the National Resources Defense Council and NYU Wagner’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management. Pratt Institute, The New School and Occidental College have conferred honorary degrees on her for her work in New York City.
Mikael Colville-Anderson, CEO of Copenhagenize
As an urban mobility expert and CEO for Copenhagenize Design Company, Mikael Colville-Andersen is one of the leading global voices in urban planning and focuses on re-establishing the bicycle on the urban landscape. He regards the bicycle is the most important tool in our urban toolbox for rebuilding our liveable cities.
Few people have done more to promote urban cycling. What started with the now-famous ”Photo That Launched a Million Bicycles” on Copenhagen Cycle Chic (copenhagencyclechic.com) that kickstarted the global bicycle boom, led to the bicycle urbanism blog Copenhagenize.com, The Slow Bicycle Movement, the global Cycle Chic trend, the Bicycle Innovation Lab (the first cultural centre for urban cycling) and even a Danish cycling NGO – Cykelrepublikken.
Colville-Andersen has coined a number of expressions to describe this modern bicycle boom, including; Cycle Chic, Copenhagenize, Bicycle Urbanism and Citizen Cyclist.
With his company, Colville-Andersen and his team advise cities and towns about how to gear up for Bicycle Culture 2.0 and take the bicycle seriously as transport once again. They work on a variety of projects, including putting the bicycle onto the curriculum in Sao Paulo schools, communications strategies aimed at encouraging Citizen Cyclists to consider the bicycle as transport and working with architectural firms in order to get the bicycle into the designs from the beginning of the process. Together with the Dutch consultancy Mobycon, Copenhagenize Design Company gives Master Classes in bicycle policy and planning to planners and engineers around the world.
Ethan Kent, Vice President, Project for Public Spaces (PPS)
Ethan Kent is an authority in the practice of Placemaking, working to support Placemaking projects and organizations around the world. During over 14 years at PPS, Ethan has learned from and photographed public spaces in more than 700 cities and 50 countries. Ethan has been integral to the development of Placemaking as a transformative approach to economic development, environmentalism, transportation planning, governance and design.
Having worked on over 200 PPS projects, Ethan has led a broad spectrum of Placemaking efforts, providing comprehensive public engagement, planning and visioning for many important public spaces. Highlights have included: Portland Oregon’s Pioneer Courthouse Square; Times Square in New York; Kennedy Plaza in Providence, RI; Pompey Square, Nassau, Bahamas; Garden Place in Hamilton, New Zealand; and Sub Centro Las Condes in Santiago, Chile. He has also worked with some of the most high profile developments in the world to help maximize public space outcomes in Hong Kong, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sao Paulo.
Utilizing lessons learned through his project work, Ethan regularly creates and conducts Placemaking training courses for professionals of various disciplines, from city planning staff in Vancouver, BC, to community development corporations in Detroit; from public housing developers in Sweden to traffic engineers in New Jersey. He has also trained hundreds of professionals across Australia and New Zealand, through leading more than 25 training workshops.
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