Living Streets

2 Walk and Cycle Conference, 22-24 Feb 2012
The first ever joint NZ Walking and Cycling conference was held in Feb 2012 in Hastings, with nearly 200 delegates attending. Over 70 speakers presented - Presentations are now available to view.

November 13, 2010. Robyn and I biked with our friend Marita across Seattle to get our Undriver Licenses at a Liveable Streets event held at the University of Washington, with lots of groups tabling there, low-cost helmets, and more. We made a beeline for the Undriver Licensing station.

Google the phrase "war on cars" and you will find that across North America, people are using the phrase to defend the happy motorized way of life. As one blog put it:

Cars promise mobility, and in a largely rural setting they provide it. But in an urbanizing world, where more than half of us live in cities, there is an inherent conflict between the automobile and the city. After a point, as their numbers multiply, automobiles provide not mobility but immobility, as well as increased air pollution and the health problems that come with it.

Walk2Work Day is part of a Living Streets campaign that aims to encourage people to walk more in their daily lives. It is a free event held before work in a location close to the main walking routes, targeting people who have walked all or part of the way to work.

The campaign aims:

-         To encourage more people to walk to work and encourage active healthy lifestyles for all New Zealanders.

-         To raise the profile of walking as a as an essential mode of transport.