Monday, November 4 at 5:00 PM
Who owns the streets and sidewalks?
Center City Philadelphia is regularly ranked as one of our nation’s most walkable, bike-able urban areas, largely owing to its relatively flat and compact geography and regular street grid. Yet automotive vehicles continue to dominate our streets, creating on-going safety and convenience issues that can discourage pedestrians and bicyclists. The November Salon will discuss what policy and infrastructural changes are needed to address these problems.
The Salon: Spirited conversations in a convivial setting
The Salon provides an opportunity for Athenæum members to discuss issues impacting Philadelphia’s future. Twenty participants and a moderator gather around the boardroom table for discussions sparked by invited topic experts. The Salon is akin to a graduate school seminar: a moderated discussion in a safe, intimate setting. The moderator opens each 90-minute Salon with a brief welcome, introduces the presenters, and asks a question to the presenters to open the session before posing the same question to participants.
Connor Descheemaker is the Coalition Manager for Transit Forward Philadelphia, a program of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. They have over a decade of experience building and facilitating diverse coalitions to achieve policy change, support local communities, and provide professional education and development. They advocate at all levels of government for reliable, sustainable, and accessible public transportation across southeastern Pennsylvania, working in coordination with community-based organizations and the statewide Transit For All PA campaign.
Diana Lind is a writer and urban policy specialist who has worked at Architectural Record magazine, Next City, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the University of Pennsylvania. She also founded the New Urban Order, a weekly column on urban affairs for the Philadelphia Citizen. Lind currently serves as the Executive Director of the Arts + Business Council for Greater Philadelphia and the Housing Fellow at the global nonprofit, NewCities.
