Planners Conference: Call for Volunteers and Abstracts
Nov 23, 2016 - Jan 8, 2017
Call for Volunteers and Abstracts
Calling all professional planners, professional engineers, planning advisory committee members, elected officials, students, academics and everyone in Atlantic Canada interested in building better communities. The Nova Scotia Planning Directors Association (NSPDA) and Licensed Professional Planners Association of Nova Scotia (LPPANS) are working together to host a conference to explore the following theme:
Take It To The Streets: Changing The Rules So That Everyone Has Room To Move
Streets and roads are one of the basic building blocks of our villages, towns, cities and rural areas. They let people and goods flow from place to place. They take up a huge amount of space. They are expensive to build and maintain. They can be a political hot potato. They can also be incredible public spaces that invite activity, engage communities and create a sense of place.
We rarely ask big, tough questions about our streets. Who are streets for? What purpose do streets serve, beyond movement? Who should pay to maintain and build our streets and roads? How do streets affect people’s health and safety? How do streets affect our environment? Why do we build and design streets the way we do? Do streets have different roles to play in urban vs. rural areas? Should they?
We are looking for creative, engaging presentations to explore three streams within this broad topic:
1. Street Design – road and street specifications
2. Transportation Networks – roads and trails
3. Street Users: Sharing road space
Topics within the streams may include:
- Complete Street Design - Road standards and safety
- Off-road vehicles (ATVs, snowmobiles)
- Freight traffic and the movement of goods
- Parking options
- Streets as places: placemaking and street design
- Urban and Rural Public Transit - Rural roads
o Sidewalk standards and active transportation promotion
o Creating good public spaces in rural communities
- Active Transportation and public health
- Innovative projects
- New tools
- Finance and infrastructure management
- Divestment of road infrastructure
- Autonomous vehicles
If you are interested in presenting on a topic related to this theme, please submit the following no later than January 6th, 2017.
• an abstract of your presentation (250 words max.)
• a brief bio of who will be presenting (60 words max.)
• Name, community/organization, position (volunteer or professional)
Please submit your presentation abstract to:
Laura Mosher lmosher@countyofkings.ca
or
Sean Gillis
sgillis@chester.ca