In October, Toronto is hosting the major international conference on pedestrianism, Walk21. For contributions to this conference, they are looking for a wide range of ideas — not just academic papers, but workshops, walkshops, forums, poster presentations, etc., and they are looking for contributions not just from the usual specialists, but from anyone who has experience of and insight into walking. Full details, including descriptions of the formats and themes, are available here. You can get a sense of the kind of stuff they’ve had in the past by looking at presentations from previous conferences on the Walk21 website.
One idea that they are floating is having locals present “walkshops” which would be guided walking tours of parts of Toronto illustrating ideas and themes. A key goal of the conference is to pay as much attention to suburbs and rural areas as to the more traditionally walkable downtowns, and the conference organizers have told me that if, for example, someone proposed a walkshop in a hard-to-access suburban area, the city could provide support such as chartering a bus to get people there and back to the conference venue.
The only drawback is that conference presenters will be expected to pay to register for the conference, although probably at a reduced rate.
Another great idea would be to have members of the community organize parallel events celebrating walking to take place in conjunction with the conference, for example an art show. It would be fantastic to have that whole week be a celebration of walking. Anyone who would like to propose such an idea should contact the organizers — by email at WALK21@toronto.ca or by phone at a dedicated number, 416-392-7200.
Here is the call for papers that was sent out:
CALL FOR PAPERS – WALK21 TORONTO 2007
Walk21 TORONTO 2007 – PUTTING PEDESTRIANS FIRST
8th Annual International Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities
October 1st to 4th, 2007
Toronto, Canada*CALL FOR PAPERS*
Please circulate to all interested partiesDeadline to submit: Friday March 23rd, 2007
The City of Toronto and Green Communities Canada will host Walk21 Toronto 2007 – Putting Pedestrians First – from October 1st to 4th, 2007. This exciting conference will bring together hundreds of delegates from around the world all with the goal of making walkable communities. Leaders and advocates from government, academia, planning, engineering, community groups, health, environment, design, and business are all expected to attend.
Please join in this important event by submitting a paper to the conference. Share your research, your experiences, your successes, your challenges, your plans, and your actions with colleagues and meet others who are working towards the same goals. Walk21 Toronto 2007 will feature workshops, walkshops, plenary sessions, special forums, and social events.
To view the Call for Papers and for more information on Walk21 Toronto 2007, please visit our conference website at toronto.ca/walk21. Don’t forget, the deadline to submit is FRIDAY MARCH 23, 2007.
