How did you get to work today?
Resource Conservation Manitoba is sponsoring The Commuter Challenge, a yearly event that encourages people to use environmentally friendly forms of transportation from June 1 to 7, 2008 . It is a cross-Canada event that features friendly competition between similar-sized cities, towns, communities and workplaces.
Participants log their green kilometers online and are entered to win exciting prizes such as a fantastic bike from Olympia Cycle & Ski and gear from Mountain Equipment Co-op! Participants can be individuals or workplaces. If you would like to coordinate the Challenge in your workplace, we offer training and resources to help you every step of the way!
For more information please call Sara at 925-3775, e-mail challenge(a)resourceconservation.mb.ca or visit our website:
www.resourceconservation.mb.ca.
Sara Perlmutter
Commuter Challenge Coordinator
Resource Conservation Manitoba
3rd fl., 303 Portage Ave, R3B 2B4
Phone: 925-3775 Fax: 942-4207
sara(a)resourceconservation.mb.ca
Resource Conservation Manitoba: Living Green, Living Well
Practical solutions for yourself, your community and the environment
Green Commuting, Environmental Education, Reducing Waste, Composting
He's a trailblazer for cyclists: Founder of One Green City gets things done
Erin Madden, Winnipeg Free Press-City and Business, B2
Updated: May 10, 2008 at 08:29 AM CDT
He could easily be one of Winnipeg's busiest volunteers, donating his time to more organizations and committees than he can count on his fingers.
Thirty-year old Anders Swanson is dedicated to helping Winnipeg become a greener city by improving the cycling network, with more trails, safer lanes on roads and maps that will get beginner cyclists and veteran cycling commuters alike, from point A to point B.
The Mayor's Environmental Committee, the City of Winnipeg's Active Transportation Committee , Bike to the Future , BIZ Transportation Committee, and the Winnipeg Trails Association are just a few of the groups he's involved with. In addition, he helped form the North Winnipeg Commuter Cyclists, the West Central Commuter Cyclists and was the founder of One Green City -- a service which liaises cycling groups and encourages them to connect.
"I am essentially volunteering with as many cycling related committees and volunteer groups throughout the city as I can to try to bring them together around the idea of building a comprehensive network of cycling routes," said Swanson, a Corydon Village resident who hasn't owned a car for more than five years. "I really felt I understood why people weren't cycling. I wanted to address the reasons that they weren't rather than just telling them to."
His hard work is paying off. Since he became involved just a few years ago, progress has already been made with a $600,000 commitment from the city budget now dedicated to building a trail infrastructure and the creation of the Northwest Pioneer Greenway.
He said that with a larger budget dedicated to the issue, cyclists will be safer and the tensions between motorists and those riding bicycles will be lessened.
"The more cyclists you have out and the more cycling infrastructure there is, the less people get hurt," explained Swanson, who works as a bike mechanic at Natural Cycle. "I think the key is reducing conflict. I don't drive now, but as a driver I was scared of hitting cyclists. It's stressful."
Janice Lukes, co-ordinator for the Winnipeg Trails Association, said the work done by Swanson for her organization and the many others he volunteers for, has been nothing short of amazing.
"I have been involved in trail development since 2001 and have met a ton of volunteers, all passionate, all motivational," she wrote in an e-mail to the Winnipeg Free Press. "But Anders Swanson's commitment, dedication and passion to help others embrace the bicycle as a means of transportation and source of recreation is simply unprecedented. I know many of the trail and cycling organizations in Winnipeg would agree that Anders has been instrumental in helping secure more trails and bike pathways for Winnipeggers!"
For more information about the work done by Swanson, visit www.onegreencity.com. To learn more about the Winnipeg Trails Association, visit www.winnipegtrails.com.
PN2008 Winnipeg
The Planners Network Conference
Planning in Challenging Climates
July 17-20, 2008 www.pnmb.org/PN2008.htm
Conference Opening Event
Open to the Public
Sustainable Transportation: Research, Advocacy, Realization
Thursday, July 17, 2008, 7:00pm, Red River College
Speakers:
Todd Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (see
http://www.vtpi.org/resume.htm)
Will Toor, Boulder County Commissioner (see
http://www.bouldercounty.org/bocc/board/toor.htm)
Reception to follow. Displays from local organizations.
More information soon about Friday and Saturday evening events.
Friday July 18th Planning with Aboriginal Communities
Saturday July 19th Local Local Local: Food, Music and Art
PN2008 Winnipeg
The Planners Network Conference
Planning in Challenging Climates
Registration in now open
Website: http://pnmb.org/PN2008Reg.htm
Register online, by fax or by mail.
Early registration deadline has been extended to May 31st, 2008
Thanks to our partner, the Canadian Community Economic Development Network
(CCEDNET) for sharing their online registration system!
PN2008 Winnipeg
The Planners Network Conference
Planning in Challenging Climates
CFP Deadline Extended to May 31, 2008
We have receive numerous requests for an extension to the April 30, 2008
deadline, and have now extended it to May 31, 2008.
PLANNERS NETWORK is an association of professionals, activists, academics,
and students involved in physical, social, economic, and environmental
planning in urban and rural areas, who promote fundamental change in our
political and economic systems.
WINNIPEG and Manitoba have long histories with struggles for social justice.
The city was the site of Canada¹s best known general strike in 1919. It
played significant roles in the development of the co-operative movement in
the mid-twentieth century. This led to the formation of the Cooperative
Commonwealth Federation (CCF) a political party that supported farmers and
workers, and called for public health insurance, public housing, and public
ownership of major industries. In the early 1960s, with the Canadian
Labour Congress, the CCF became the New Democratic Party and Manitoba is
currently the only province with an NDP government. There is strong history
of community economic development in the city, and it is known for its high
rate of volunteerism and its vibrant arts culture.
The region is also known for its long winters. Unfortunately this is not the
only challenging climate faced by progressive planners and advocates for
social and environmental justice. The pervasive neo-liberal climate has
undermined social programs; sprawl has created a climate intolerant to
active transportation, and competes with the downtown core for amenities;
and the growing aboriginal population struggles to overcome a history of
oppression.
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: PN2008 will bring together an array of planning
practitioners, community and economic development professionals, organizers,
policy analysts, designers, students and faculty. They will discuss
strategies addressing social and environmental justice in challenging
climates - including social, political and economic climates.
Topics of interest to the conference include, but are not limited to: models
for community economic development inner city community development art
and the city planning and aboriginal communities neighbourhood
revitalization downtown redevelopment housing and homelessness
promoting active transportation urban ecology green buildings and
sustainable communities social impacts of sprawl heritage planning
progressive planning and the media age-friendly communities.
A range of session types are encouraged, from conventional panels to
participatory workshops and ³how-to² sessions. Please send proposals for
individual contributions or full sessions to <PN2008Sessions(a)pnmb.org>. The
deadline for proposals is April 30, 2008. Space is limited.
Please include the proposed session content, format and a list of potential
speakers, panelists or participants.
Additional conference information, including preliminary schedule,
accommodations and mobile workshops, is available at <www.pnmb.org>. The web
site will be updated regularly as the conference program develops.
Looks like the weather will be fantastic for the Jane's Walks this weekend. Hope you'll come out and join us!
If you have problems viewing this email, please click here to download the email in pdf.
Winnipeggers Invited to get out and Walk!
Celebrate the legacy of urban thinker Jane Jacobs on a 'Jane's Walk' May 3 and 4, 2008
Have you ever wondered about the history of that house on the corner, or the little business that has been there for longer than you can remember? Step out this May 3rd and 4th and join a 'Jane's Walk' to learn and share in the vibrant history of Winnipeg's communities and neighborhoods.
Jane's Walk is an annual event taking place in Winnipeg, Toronto, New York, and cities across Canada and the United States. These walks will showcase great Winnipeg neighbourhoods in a new and exciting manner while celebrating the legacy of urban activist and writer Jane Jacobs. Jane's Walk is an exceptional opportunity for Winnipeggers to discover their city - both places they think they know well and places they want to explore.
Walks are taking place all in communities across Winnipeg. Currently walks are taking place in the Downtown, Riverview, Kingston Crescent, the West End, along Selkirk Avenue, in Point Douglas, the Bois des Esprit in south St.Vital, St. Norbert, West Broadway, West Wolseley, and Wolseley. A full list of walks, start times, locations, and descriptions is available at www.janeswalk.net.
Circle May 3rd and 4th on your calendar and get out to enjoy and learn about what makes your community unique and special!
Sincerely,
The Jane's Walk Winnipeg Team!
Where Can I Walk?
Winnipeg walks are taking place in St.Norbert, West Broadway, Downtown, Wolseley, West Wolseley, Riverview, the Bois des Esprits, Kingston Crescent, along Selkirk Avenue, in Point Douglas, and the West End.
Visit www.janeswalk.net for all of the locations, start times, and descriptions.
Share Your Stories
The best expert on your community is YOU! Jane's Walk is about meeting and sharing stories with your neighbors. Bring your photos and stories to share about the community.
All our walk leaders are local residents and neighbours learning about their community, just like you.
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. She had no formal training as a planner, and yet her 1961 best-seller, The Death and life of Great American Cities, introduced ground-breaking ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail that are now common sense to today's architects, planners, politicians and activists. Foremost is her simple yet revolutionary idea that dense, mixed use neighborhoods are the key to the health and survival of a city.
"No one can find what will work for our cities by looking at ... suburban garden cities, manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You've got to get out and walk."
Jane Jacobs, "Downtown is for people", from the Exploding Metropolis
A full list of walks, start times, locations, and descriptions is available at www.janeswalk.net.
>From TreeHugger:
New York Unveils Plan to Be More Bicycle-Friendly
by Andrew Posner, Rhode Island, USA on 04.29.08
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/new-york-unveils-plan-to-be-more-bi…
Most of the steps are transferable to any urban area, just maybe on a smaller scale.
NYC Dept of Transportation Strategic Plan http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/stratplan.shtml
Cheers
Stacy Matwick
Information Centre
International Institute for Sustainable Development
161 Portage Ave. E., 6th floor
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 0Y4
Voice: (204)958-7755 Fax: (204)958-7710
Email: smatwick(a)iisd.ca Website: http://www.iisd.org
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read" Groucho Marx
If you have problems viewing this email, please click here to download the email in pdf.
Winnipeggers Invited to get out and Walk!
Celebrate the legacy of urban thinker Jane Jacobs on a 'Jane's Walk' May 3 and 4, 2008
Have you ever wondered about the history of that house on the corner, or the little business that has been there for longer than you can remember? Step out this May 3rd and 4th and join a 'Jane's Walk' to learn and share in the vibrant history of Winnipeg's communities and neighborhoods.
Jane's Walk is an annual event taking place in Winnipeg, Toronto, New York, and cities across Canada and the United States. These walks will showcase great Winnipeg neighbourhoods in a new and exciting manner while celebrating the legacy of urban activist and writer Jane Jacobs. Jane's Walk is an exceptional opportunity for Winnipeggers to discover their city - both places they think they know well and places they want to explore.
Walks are taking place all in communities across Winnipeg. Currently walks are taking place in the Downtown, Riverview, Kingston Crescent, the West End, along Selkirk Avenue, in Point Douglas, the Bois des Esprit in south St.Vital, St. Norbert, West Broadway, West Wolseley, and Wolseley. A full list of walks, start times, locations, and descriptions is available at www.janeswalk.net.
Circle May 3rd and 4th on your calendar and get out to enjoy and learn about what makes your community unique and special!
Sincerely,
The Jane's Walk Winnipeg Team!
Where Can I Walk?
Winnipeg walks are taking place in St.Norbert, West Broadway, Downtown, Wolseley, West Wolseley, Riverview, the Bois des Esprits, Kingston Crescent, along Selkirk Avenue, in Point Douglas, and the West End.
Visit www.janeswalk.net for all of the locations, start times, and descriptions.
Share Your Stories
The best expert on your community is YOU! Jane's Walk is about meeting and sharing stories with your neighbors. Bring your photos and stories to share about the community.
All our walk leaders are local residents and neighbours learning about their community, just like you.
Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. She had no formal training as a planner, and yet her 1961 best-seller, The Death and life of Great American Cities, introduced ground-breaking ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail that are now common sense to today's architects, planners, politicians and activists. Foremost is her simple yet revolutionary idea that dense, mixed use neighborhoods are the key to the health and survival of a city.
"No one can find what will work for our cities by looking at ... suburban garden cities, manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You've got to get out and walk."
Jane Jacobs, "Downtown is for people", from the Exploding Metropolis
A full list of walks, start times, locations, and descriptions is available at www.janeswalk.net.
Hello!
Here is the latest issue of "Active & Green", an e-newsletter developed by Resource Conservation Manitoba to help keep people informed and connected regarding the latest in green commuting issues in Winnipeg and elsewhere. As supporters of green commuting and active living, we hope you will find the information useful and circulate within your workplace and networks. (Apologies for any duplicate postings.)
Check it out at:
http://www.resourceconservation.mb.ca/news/pdfs/Active_Green_Spring2008.pdf
Highlights
* Info on Earth Day events happening this weekend & next week
* International Trails Day & Bike to Work Day
* Upcoming Commuter Challenge
* How to Keep Your Bike Safe
* Bike Racks as Art on Broadway
* Neighbourhood Cycling Groups
* Jane's Walks in Winnipeg
* How to be Idle-wise
* and much more!
If you are not able to access the online pdf, please forward your mailing address to receive a hard copy.
stay active & green,
Beth McKechnie & Jessie Klassen
Green Commuting Initiatives
Resource Conservation Manitoba
(204) 925-3772 / beth(a)resourceconservation.mb.ca / jessie(a)resourceconservation.mb.ca
Hello everyone:
Winnipeg Transit is going to be installing bike lockers at some transit locations and are asking for input on where they should be placed. Some people have suggested outer terminals, such as St. Vital Mall or Polo Park. Thoughts?
Quick turnaround is required - please send your two cents by Tuesday (tomorrow) to Jonathan Borland at jborland(a)winnipeg.ca.
The bike lockers would provide secure bike parking for someone who is combining cycling & transit in their commute.
cheers,
Beth
925-3772
Green Commuting Initiatives
Resource Conservation Manitoba
www.resourceconservation.mb.ca