Release: Pacific Arbour Speaker Series presents: Cities, Bicycles and the Future of Getting Around featuring David Byrne, Mayor Gregor Robertson, Amy Walker and Erick Villagomez

By Capilano University, Performing Arts Theatre At a time when Vancouver is seriously investing in making the city more bike friendly, it is indeed judicious to convene this forum on urban bike advocacy with some key players and thinkers from our city and beyond.  The evening, sponsored by the City of Vancouver, will feature short topical presentations by all four panelists, followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Signed copies of Byrne's Bicycle Diaries will be for sale in paperback from 32Books.

Pacific Arbour Speaker Series presents

Cities, Bicycles and the Future of Getting Around

Featuring David Byrne, Mayor Gregor Robertson, Amy Walker and Erick Villagomez

Host: Paul Grant

Sunday, October 24, 2010 @ 7:30pm

The Vancouver Playhouse

Hamilton & Dunsmuir Street

Tickets: $25/$22

Box Office: 604.990.7810 or online at www.capilanou.ca/theatre

For everyone who cares about a sustainable and healthy transportation future for Vancouver, come and weigh in on the current state of affairs and what the future holds with our panel of forward thinkers and doers. Tickets are on sale and available at 604-990-78-7810 or on-line at www.capilanou.ca/theatre. ***** Musician David Byrne has always been ahead of his time.  From his ground-breaking group Talking Heads to his work in video/film and public art, Byrne has always been on the cutting edge.  For more than 30 years, Byrne has used the bicycle as his principle mode of transport.  His book Bicycle Diaries chronicles his travels around the globe and his many adventures on his bike in some of the world's most famous cities.  What is apparent is that there is a long way to go in making our cities the world over, safe and easy places to travel by bike. Mayor Gregor Robertson wants to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world.  Under Mayor Robertson's leadership, Vancouver has taken swift action on becoming more sustainable by doubling the City's bicycle infrastructure budget, setting the highest electric vehicle charging standards for new buildings in North America, and approving laneway housing. Since being elected, Mayor Robertson and City Council have also expanded the popular car-free days throughout the city, installed protected bicycle lanes on the Burrard Street Bridge and Dunsmuir Viaduct, and launched curbside compost pick-up in Vancouver. Amy Walker, Co-Publisher and Creative Director of Momentum Magazine, is a life-long cyclist and has been making biking a part of her life and work for the past 21 years. Through her guidance of the concept and content of Momentum Magazine, Amy has helped shape and focus the dialogue about urban and transportation cycling in North America. Her focus has been on exploring the development of cycling in particular cities, and portraying self-propelled living in a way that inspires people to shift their habits and behaviors to be more energy-efficient. Erick Villagomez is an educator, independent researcher and designer with academic and professional interests in the human settlements at all scales. Erick is also one of the founders and editors of re:place Magazine (www.regardingplace.com), an up-and-coming publication looking at Metro Vancouver's public realm and urban landscape. His research, consulting and writing has influenced patterns of urban development locally and abroad - contributing to the adoption of 'green' urban design processes, plans, codes, standards, guidelines and prototypes. Paul Grant is a retired CBC broadcaster who has been riding a bike for more than half a century, since delivering newspapers as a kid in Vancouver.  He has served on the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee, and was a contributing editor to Momentum Magazine.<-->