Conference program
Pre-conference workshops | Poster presentations

Achieving walkable streets in Canada: A Complete Streets campaign
Monday October 1, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Room 304

This one-day pre-conference organizing workshop is for those who want to learn about campaigns in the U.S. and the U.K. for pedestrian-friendly streets, and to discuss how to organize a similar campaign in Canada.

This interactive workshop will feature Complete Streets campaigner Domenic Liberatore of the Thunderhead Alliance. Participation in this day is recommended for Canadian conference delegates from community groups, all levels of government, elected officials, and all those interested in developing a campaign to have a Complete Street Policy in their community. Download a full description (PDF 33KB).

Sponsored by Walk and Bike for Life, the Ontario Smart Growth Network, and Green Communities Canada.

Active and Safe Routes to School
Monday October 1, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
RBC Centre, 315 Front Street West

Download a full description (PDF 25KB) and detailed program (PDF 42KB) for this full-day workshop.

Community Forum
Monday October 1, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Room 302

Community groups and individuals will present on their work and proposals on pedestrianization in Toronto. Topics will focus on pedestrianization and development - the effect of buildings, their structure, positioning and use, on the pedestrian environment. Other topics may also be added by participants.

No registration required.

Facilitating the Planning and Design of Healthy Communities
Monday October 1, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Room 302

Evidence is accumulating that poor land-use planning and design are a factor in chronic diseases, traffic fatalities, mental illness, social isolation and inadequate access to services. The overall goal of this workshop is to raise awareness and better educate the public of the issue of the built environment and its impacts on health so that they can better come to understand what the underlying issues are, how these issues are connected, how they as individuals are affected, and what they themselves can do to address the problems.

FCM Walkability and Placemaking training seminar for elected municipal officials
Monday October 1, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Room 309

The Walkability and Placemaking seminar will introduce elected officials to new ways of thinking about cities and towns and their public spaces. It will identify themes and principles of walkability and street design in town centres across Canada, and help address and resolve issues through the principles of Placemaking. The diverse, multidimensional training session will include guided walks and on-site exercises as well as seminar-style lectures and dialogues which will allow participants to gain valuable knowledge while expressing their own creative ideas.

Project for Public Spaces will help participants understand the delicately balanced elements that create both a thriving business and social environment in Canada's downtowns and neighbourhood centres. Attention to walkability, accessibility, and liveability can help the public spaces of many Canadian cities achieve their enormous potential. Download a full description (PDF 39KB) of this workshop.

4:00 - Getting out of the Box: An Introduction to Cultural Revolution
Streets are for People! has been working for five years now to find ever more effective, creative, and playful ways to demonstrate the absurdity of our automobile-addicted culture. The time has come for us all to get out of our car-boxes, introduce ourselves to each other, and start to rebuild our cities for people, not just cars.

In this presentation we will offer a humorously animated account of how the automobile has become so dangerously embedded in every aspect of our modern lives. We'll also take an inspiring look at the international car-free movement and the many tactics from policy change to acts of civil disobedience and community-led initiatives that are propelling the shift from car culture to livable cities.

5:30 - The Anatomy of Pedestrian Zones
In this lively discussion we'll focus on one of the more impacting and contentious steps towards car-freedom: the creation of pedestrian zones. Along with a group of knowledgeable and opinionated panelists (from activists to academics) we'll take a detailed look at both temporary and permanent pedestrian zones from all corners of the earth debating what works, what doesn't, and why. We'll celebrate their many benefits and warn of dangers such as gentrification. Come and discover what makes pedestrian streets tick and which elements can be transplanted to our own communities.
www.streetsareforpeople.org

Measuring walking: Towards internationally standardized monitoring methods of walking and public space
Monday October 1, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Room 303

We're currently witnessing an encouraging increase of surveys, counts and audits being performed to assess walking. However, we're often faced with one problem: the incompatibility and uncertain validity of data and methods used. This workshop aims to discuss how we could establish international guidelines for the collection, analysis and dissemination of qualitative and quantitative techniques for measuring walking.

Some efforts in this direction are currently being undertaken within the European 'Pedestrian Quality Needs' project (COST 358) with 20 countries participating. However, it is desirable to create not only European but worldwide standards and to tie them in with the International Charter for Walking. The workshop welcomes everyone interested to discuss and contribute to these guidelines. Download the program and description (PDF 60KB).

Our Streets – inserting oneself into the municipal process: a discussion for the everyday person on how to bring pedestrian change to their neighbourhood
Sunday September 30, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Cecil Street Community Centre, 58 Cecil Street

Local residents, community groups and Business Improvement Areas are full of great pedestrian ideas for their neighbourhoods but feel paralyzed when it comes to effecting change. Where do I start? Who do I talk to? Where does the money come from for all this? These are just a few questions. While the municipality directs change at the citywide level, we have a valuable resource that can offer input and ideas on the finest details: area residents and businesses.

The objective of this workshop is to have an open and frank discussion with everyday people about how to insert oneself in the process and bring pedestrian change to one's neighbourhood. Featuring Paul Bedford, the former Director of Planning for the City of Toronto; Janice Etter, a citizen activist who will talk about the campaign that led to the ban on new drive-thrus; and Paul Hess, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography/Program in Planning at the University of Toronto.

Free, no registration required.

Walkability Roadshow Planning and Progress meeting
RBC Centre, 315 Front Street West

This invitation-only session is for participating communities from the Walk21 Roadshow project. Community representatives will be presenting the progress of their work to all delegates during the plenary and breakout sessions of the conference.