New Amsterdam Bike Slam Symposium - An invitation

Four hundred years after Henry Hudson's arrival in Manhattan, two teams of Dutch and American planners & designers face off in a battle for the future of New York City transportation. Their challenge: find ways to bring NYC cycling up to the level of the Netherlands, the only country in the world with more bikes than people.

New Amsterdam Bike Slam is being organized in New Amsterdam (sometime also referred to as "New York City") from 10-13 September 2009. It is an initiative of Amsterdam Cycling to Sustainability, produced by Vélo Mondial and Transportation Alternatives, with funding from Transumo and the City of Amsterdam.

Full background on the program will be found here - http://newamsterdambikeslam.org/. The organizers have communicated the following information to us today by way of advance notice. (PS. It's free.)

Global Trends in Sustainable Mobility

New York and Amsterdam, like many other global cities, face challenges regarding mobility and requiring immediate solutions. An urgent look at necessary changes in mobility is the objective of the symposium ‘Global trends in sustainable mobility.’ For that purpose we have invited speakers to debate ideas that would further our thinking about cities and mobility.

How did Amsterdam and New York get to where we are now with regard to mobility and what analyses can we bring to the table? What are the systematic differences in urban planning between New York and Amsterdam? Do these differences only exist in the field of mobility or has it other psychological and cultural backgrounds? What makes cities not only livable, but attractive to live in, and what good can mobility bring or bad by making things disappear? Can cities live with less or no petrol cars at all and what does such an idea do to the economy? How will public transport play a role in the triangle with emission rich mobility and more sustainable modes of transport?

This issues will be discussed in the program: Global Trends to Sustainable Mobility

08.00 - 09.00 Breakfast
First we invite you for breakfast; also to get to know each other a little bit.

09.00 - 09.30 Opening
An political view will from New York - Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn
The Netherlands Frans Timmermans, Minister for European Affairs.

A vintage award ceremony will close this first half hour.

09.30 - 10.00 What lies in the future?
Former mayor of Bogota, now scholar, Enrique Penalosa will give an overarching talk on opportunities for New York and Amsterdam and how they can be realized.

10.00 - 10.20 Break
Coffee break and informal discussions with the speakers from the first session.

10.20 - 12.30 Trends Session
In the second session of this morning we will invite the next four speakers on stage and we intend to create as much of an interactive session with them as possible.
Speakers will be introduce their topics for a few minutes and then two moderators - Paul White from New York and ………. - will dig deeper with questions and challenges and involve the audience.

The speakers are:

* Heather Allen; Senior Manager Sustainable Development Union International Transport Public UITP Brussels
* Adnan Rahman; managing partner ECORYS Transport
* Willem de Jager; director Sustainable Mobility RABO bank
* Ruth Oldenziel; professor TU Eindhoven

12.30 - 14.00 Lunch
During lunch we will not only offer you food and drink, but we also invite you to continue the debate with the speakers of the morning and to start the discussion with the afternoon speakers.

14.00 - 17.00 Sustainable Mobility Salon
The kick-off of the salon - an informal way of gathering and exchanging views and knowledge - will be in the capable hands of Ruth Oldenziel who will dwell on historical, cultural and psychological backgrounds of planning for cycling in The Netherlands and the USA.

In three panels we will discuss:

Innovative cycling developments in The Netherlands

* Pieter de Haan Traffic Psychologist; staff member Institute for Shared Space
* Herman Gelissen: the Dutch alternative to the Public Bicycle OV FIETS
Moderator Peter Davidson

Cycling Planning in the USA and The Netherlands

* Arjen Jaarsma Balancia
* Jeff Olson, Alta Planning
* Moderator Andy Clarke; Executive Director League of American Bicyclists LAB

What does the future hold for Amsterdam and for New York?

* Paul White, Transportation Alternatives
* Pascal van den Noort, Velo Mondial / Amsterdam Cycling to Sustainability
Moderator TBA, ITDP

Drinks for attendants/ Dinner for speakers and guests

For further information, contact:

* Shin-pei Tsay, Deputy Director, Transportation Alternatives, - http://www.transalt.org/about/contact
* Pascal van den Noort, Velo Mondial, - operations@velomondial.net

Print this article