Saturday, August 1, 2015

West Palm officials picked for Denmark livable cities program

Click title for link to an article by Tony Doris of the Palm Beach Post about a significant honor given to the city of West Palm Beach. Mayor Jeri Muoio and Downtown Development Authority Director Raphael Clemente have been invited to the 8 80 Cities program in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference will take place in September. The group is paying their airfare and expenses for those invited to attend. This is recognition that West Palm Beach is doing things right in making a walkable and bikeable community.

Here is a snippet from the article:
     West Palm Beach and the other cities were chosen based on what they’ve already been doing to encourage walking and biking and to improve parks and other public spaces, said de la Pena, who was among five people on the selection committee.
     Clemente, who did the city’s five-minute presentation, had to convince the panel that the city and its officials could build on what they’d done. The city has been implementing a series of road changes to encourage walking and biking, recently started a bike-sharing program and redesigned its waterfront several years ago.
     Other cities chosen for the trip are: Miami; Tallahassee; Macon and Columbus, Ga.; Gulfport, Miss.; Charlotte, N.C.; Detroit; Akron, Ohio; Lexington, Ky.; Grand Forks, N.D.; and San Jose and Long Beach, Calif.
Check out this video from the 8 80 Cities group:
8-80 Cities is a non-profit organization based in Toronto, Canada. They are dedicated to contributing to the transformation of cities into places where people can walk, bike, access public transit and visit vibrant parks and public places. Their approach is to engage people and communities across multiple sectors to inspire the creation of cities that are easily accessible, safe and enjoyable for all.