Project for Public Spaces is now accepting proposals for the Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place conference, to be held September 12-15, 2016, at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver, BC.

Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place was established in 1980 and has become North America’s premier conference on active transportation and living. This year’s meeting will bring together a diverse and international audience of city planners, transportation engineers, public health professionals, elected officials, community leaders, and professional walking and bicycling advocates. Each participant shares an understanding that better access to walking and bicycling can improve quality-of-life and help build vibrant places.

Under the theme “Moving Towards a Healthier World,” we are seeking proposals for the following four focus areas:

• Mobility: People and places thrive when transportation modes are balanced and connections to housing, employment, education, and recreation destinations are planned as part of a robust, interdependent transportation system. Well-designed streets are community assets that facilitate social interaction and add value to a neighborhood or corridor. We encourage proposals that consider walking, bicycling and mobility in this context.

• Governance: Sound and just decisions result when institutions actively engage with, and listen to, constituents. An empowered citizenry can guide institutions towards more equitable public policy and investments. We encourage proposals about proven approaches, mechanisms, and tools that improve transparency, accountability, and trust between constituents and government.

• Health: Promote and preserving the public’s health, safety, and welfare is the mandate of our public institutions. Settlement patterns, income inequality, environmental hazards, neighborhood design, and an aging population often challenge this mandate. We encourage proposals that address these challenges and move us towards the integration of public health considerations in all policies.

• Resilience: Social, economic, and environmental changes pose multiple challenges to transportation, governance, food production, energy consumption, settlement patterns, and public health. Meeting these challenges in ways that reduce rather than reinforce inequality means rethinking public investment priorities. We welcome proposals from planners and visionaries who are preparing people and institutions for flexibility and continuity.

With its walkable urban core, dense mixed-use areas, and protected open spaces, the host city of Vancouver, BC has much to teach us, and it’s ready to learn from the rest of the world. That’s where you come in: Please submit your own stories of leadership, challenges, and lessons learned by the proposal deadline of Friday, January 29, 2016 at 8pm Eastern.

Visit our conference website for more detailed information on conference formats and proposal guidelines, then click here to start your proposal.

Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place 2016: Moving Towards a Healthier World is made possible with the support of our sponsors. For more information about becoming a sponsor please download our sponsorship kit or contact sponsors@walkbikeplaces.org.