Whoever put together the City of Vancouver tweet above did a nice job, but you can see by the wording that the tweeter does not know much about Jeff Speck. We’ve been relatively quiet about the fact that renowned urbanist, author and city planner Jeff Speck is in town assuming that all the tickets for his speaking events were gone weeks ago. But we were wrong, and here’s your opportunity to hear the author of the classic book “Walkable City” who has just released “Walkable City Rules: 101 steps to Making Better Places”. This recent book is a practical handbook for practitioners, breaking down the steps and methods to make cities that are connected, sociable and thriving.
For people in urban design and new urbanism Jeff needs no introduction. He is a thoughtful seasoned urbanist that truly believes that downtowns are the heart of any city and making them vibrant is achievable and the right thing to do. And he’s not just a speaker. Jeff has rolled up his shirt sleeves and worked across North America and elsewhere in towns and cities providing the guide map to revitalize and recharge places by reinventing how downtowns are perceived and how they are accessed.
Jeff was formerly the U.S. Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts and directed the Mayors’ Institute on City Design. While recognizing that cars moving slowly are the lifeblood of the city, Jeff has identified four factors to improve walkability and notes that walking has to be as good as driving to attract downtown customers and create sociability in downtowns. His work illustrates that investing in walkable and bikeable places within an economic, health, environmental and equity framework allows expenditure actions, and is simply the right thing to do.
You can get a free ticket to hear Jeff Speck tonight at UBC Robson Square. You can follow this link for a ticket.
When: Thursday, May 23, 2019
7:00pm – 9:30pm (Doors open 6:30pm)
Where: UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street (Room C300)
Registration
Tickets are complimentary; however, seating is limited and advance registration is required.
Jeff will be available for book signings in the foyer after the talk.
Learn more about Jeff Speck: https://www.jeffspeck.com/
If you simply can’t wait to hear Jeff, you can view his TED Talk on “Four Ways to Make A City More Walkable” below. It has had nearly 2 million views.
