Issue: 1 | November 16, 2011

Mark your calendar for September 10-13, 2012 and plan to be in Long Beach, California for the 17th gathering of Pro Walk/Pro Bike®. Like any Pro Walk/Pro Bike®, you will be joining a broad array of people who share a common belief that more bicycling and more walking leads to communities that are more cohesive, more economically sustainable, healthier, and happier; unlike conferences of recent memory, this will take place against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and long beaches, which will you send you home with a head start on happiness.

Those of you who have attended previous Pro Walk/Pro Bike® conferences understand very well that the work—more than any individual—is the star. That tradition will continue in 2012, but seeing how we’re in the LA area, we thought it couldn’t hurt to sprinkle in a few stars.

Some of the featured speakers at Pro Walk/Pro Bike® 2012 in Long Beach, California:

Mikael Colville-Andersen
Copenhagenize Consulting, CEO
A rising international star who is often referred to as Denmark's Bicycle Ambassador, Mikael is an urban mobility expert and "bicycle anthropologist." He lectures around the world on how cities can - and should - re-establish the bicycle as a respected and accepted transport form.

The "bicycle anthropologist" draws lessons from observing the 500,000 people who daily choose to navigate the streets of Greater Copenhagen on bicycles. Mikael challenges us to think of them not as cyclists, nor as environmentalists, but simply as people choosing to ride because the bicycle is the simplest, quickest way to get through the city.

With his unique combination of anthropology and marketing, Colville-Andersen explains how regular citizens can be encouraged to choose the bicycle. Go on a guided tour of Copenhagen with Mikael: http://youtu.be/ZtX8qiC_rXE

-> Mikael’s appearance at Pro Walk/Pro Bike® 2012 is thanks to the generosity of the League of American Bicyclists. Thanks!

Fred Kent
Project for Public Spaces, President
Fred Kent is a leading authority on revitalizing city spaces and one of the foremost thinkers in livability, smart growth and the future of the city. As founder and president of Project for Public Spaces, he is known throughout the world as a dynamic speaker and prolific ideas man.

Traveling over 150,000 miles each year, Fred offers technical assistance to communities and has given talks across the U.S. as well as internationally. Each year, he and the PPS staff train 10,000 people in Placemaking techniques.

Fred studied with Margaret Mead and worked with William H. Whyte on the Street Life Project, assisting in observations and film analysis of corporate plazas, urban streets, parks and other open spaces in New York City.

-> Check out Fred's recent interview in The Atlantic Monthly: http://bit.ly/sUKXrW

John O. Norquist
Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), President and CEO
John Norquist's work promoting New Urbanism as an alternative and antidote to sprawl's social and environmental problems draws on his experience as a big-city mayor and prominent participant in national discussions on urban design and transportation policy.

Norquist served as Mayor of Milwaukee from 1988-2004. Under his leadership, Milwaukee experienced a decline in poverty, saw a boom in new downtown housing, and became a leading center of education and welfare reform. He oversaw a revision of the city's zoning code and reoriented development around walkable streets and public amenities such as the city's 3.1-mile Riverwalk. Named a Governing Magazine "Public Official of the Year" during his tenure, Norquist also received widespread recognition for championing the removal of a 0.8 mile stretch of elevated freeway. In 2008, he received the Bacon Prize, named for visionary Philadelphia planner Ed Bacon.

-> We're very excited about the participation of CNU's members in Pro Walk/Pro Bike® 2012. For more about the work they're doing relating to planning and walkable neighborhoods see papers from their June 2011 conference: http://www.cnu.org/nuresearch

Charlie Gandy
PWPB® 2012: Local Host Coordinator
Directing local efforts in Long Beach is the one (and only) Charlie Gandy. Charlie is a nationally recognized expert in active community design, and has been at the epicenter of national and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy for nearly two decades. Charlie is one of our best innovators and translators, often moving outside bicycle and pedestrian circles to get our message across to elected officials, business leaders, and other non-traditional audiences.

As the Mobility Coordinator for Long Beach, California's Bike Long Beach program, Gandy played a lead role in the award winning "sharrow" experiment, the 3rd and Broadway national "protected bike lane" pilot program, and collaborated on the nation's first Bicycle Friendly Business Districts. Prior to moving to Long Beach, Charlie was Director of Advocacy Programs for the Bicycle Federation of America (NCBW's precursor) from 1994 to 1998. At the Bicycle Federation, he organized and launched citizen based advocacy groups for walking and cycling in thirty states and metropolitan areas, and coached and trained advocates in all fifty states. Gandy developed and launched the "Walkable Community Workshops," which have traveled to more than 1,200 communities nationwide. Charlie is President of Livable Communities Inc.

Pictured above: Charlie (left) talks with Gary Toth (PPS) about an intersection redesign in Long Beach.

-> Fans of Charlie: Don't miss the Charlie Gandy Honorary Roast that will take place at PWPB® 2012. Time: TBD.

Next in our December edition
-> Our Call for Proposals
-> A Sneak Peak at the Program!

Thanks to our conference sponsors

If you are interested in being a sponsor or exhibitor at Pro Walk/Pro Bike® 2012, please contact:

Mark Plotz
Conference Director
Pro Walk/Pro Bike® 2012
202.223.3621 phone
202.223.3477 fax
mark@bikewalk.org
conference website

National Center for Bicycling & Walking | 1612 K Street, NW | Suite 802 | Washington, DC | DC | 20006