One of the world's most innovative thinkers on traffic, community life, and urban design David Engwicht will speak about his ideas in Galway next week.
Mr Engwicht will give a workshop entitled Smarter Travel and the Creative City in the Galway City Museum on Monday May 24.
The Brisbane based artist, social innovator and street philosopher, Mr Engwicht is credited with developing the ‘Walking School Bus’ concept, now widely practised in Galway as evidenced by young schoolchildren walking to school accompanied by designated guardians rather than being driven by car.
Mr Engwicht is author of several books including Better Living Through Less Traffic (1993 ), Street Reclaiming: Creating Liveable Streets and Vibrant Communities (1999 ), and more recently Mental Speed Bumps: The smarter way to tame traffic (2005 ).
Organised by the Galway Transportation Unit and An Taisce Green Schools Programme, to promote National Bike Week from June 13 to 20, Mr Engwicht’s workshop will address the link between the creativity of a city and how people move through streets and public spaces.
The workshop will explore how to create ‘mental speed bumps’ so people slow down and contribute to the social, cultural, and creative life of the city.
It will also address why we need to move from a ‘mobility-centric’ to an ‘exchange-centric’ view of the city. The audience will be introduced to the concept of ‘place making’, an emerging new field that provides a holistic view of a city.
The workshop will be free of charge and members of the public are invited to attend.
