Gil Peñalosa presented a public lecture titled "The 8 80 City: vibrant cities, healthy communities, happier people" in Knowlton Hall’s Gui Auditorium last week.
Penalosa's lecture focused on the work derived from his non-profit 8 80 Cities. The organization advocates for urban vitality through walking, biking, trails, parks and public spaces. 8 80 cities operates under the philosophy that urban spaces should be usable by someone from age 8 to age 80 and that the walkability and accessibility of the city is closely related to public heath, development and sustainability. Penalosa is involved in a number of projects that implement these techniques to revitalize cities. Penalosa believes that these public spaces should be devoid of social status and cultivate interaction among people from all backgrounds.
Peñalosa is the executive director of the nonprofit Walk and Bike for Life, a senior consultant for the renowned Danish firm Gehl Architects and is director of Healthy Places Initiatives for the New York-based Project for Public Spaces. He serves on the boards of directors of the American Trails Organization, the City Parks Alliance, and the International Sport and Culture Association as well as on the advisory boards of America Walks and WalkON.
Peñalosa spearheaded the effort to redevelop and build over 200 parks in Bogotá. Additionally, he instituted a policy that closes more than 70 miles of city roads, the Ciclovía, each Sunday where over 2 million people come out to walk, run, skate and bike.
More information about the school and a full schedule of lectures can be found at knowlton.osu.edu.
Previous lectures can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/user/knowltonosu/.
This blog will be a feeder for recent news, events and student work occurring at the Knowlton School at The Ohio State University. Posts will typically center around updates from the school's lecture series, exciting projects from recent student reviews and updates from other school events.
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