Gil Penalosa is passionate about cities for all people. Gil advises decision makers and communities on how to create vibrant cities and healthy communities for everyone regardless of social, economic, or ethnic background. His focus is the design and use of parks and streets as great public places, as well as sustainable mobility: walking, cycling, and public transit.
Gil Penalosa is Chair of 8 80 Cities, which aims to improve the quality of life for people in cities by bringing citizens together to enhance mobility and public space so that together we can create more vibrant, healthy, and equitable communities.
As former Commissioner of Parks, Sport and Recreation for the City of Bogotá, Colombia, Gil was an integral part of the city's much celebrated transformation of public space and sustainable mobility during the late 1990s. Gil successfully led the design and development of over 200 parks including Simon Bolivar, a 113-hectare park in the heart of the city. Gil's team also initiated the "new Ciclovia," a program that sees over one million people walk, run, skate, and bike along 121 kilometres of Bogotá’s city roads every Sunday, and today is internationally recognized and emulated.
Gil also works as Urban Expert on Mobility and Citizen Engagement for the renowned Danish firm Gehl Architects.
Gil will be in New Zealand for the 2WalkandCycle conference (6-8July 2016), and will be speaking in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland as well.
As Gil says,"every city should have a law of two words: pedestrians first".
More details to come
Christchurch - Monday 4 July 5:30 Art Gallery Christchurch Conversations a public event.
Wellington - Tuesday 5 July lunchtime talk 12.30 at Adam Auditorium, City Art Gallery - all welcome
Talk at 4pm Film Archive - hosted by IPENZ
Auckland - Wednesday 6 July 5:30 Aotea Centre at Auckland Conversations. A public event but please register your interest