Animating public space – Talk the Walk

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Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/06/2009
4:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Location
Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment

Categories


As this is an event to give as many people a chance to get to know others in the room, we limit the presentations to only a few minutes each.  Any participant that wants to address the whole room may do so – the more participants electing to do so the less time each of them has to speak!

Presentations to be made on the evening include:

Melissa Bliss – an artist who creates guided walks and soundwalks

Philip Cave – landscape architect

Carlos Cortes – dancer choreographer and visual artist

Des de Moor – will talk about Ramblers’ Association’s Get Walking Day

Louise Duggan – on the work of CABE Space

Martin Fidler – the Ruskin Walk

Sir Muir Gray – the National Walking Campaign

Peter Heath – Public Realm speicalist from Atkins

Liz Kessler – Open Space strategist, EC1 New Deal, who will talk about the revival of the market on Whitecross Street

Tim Long – on the role of benches in animating public space

Ian Phillips – on ‘Bridging the gap’  – planners and designers create spaces and structures, but people and their activities make them into stimulating places.

You can download a list of participants here: Participants & Profiles 3 June_090607.xls .  We will distribute evaluation sheets at the event but if you missed filling one in, you can download it here Making it better_000210.doc and send it to [email protected]

Animating Public Space – some recommendations from participants


Talk the Walk: Networking events for people promoting vibrant walkable neighbourhoods.

The format of a Talk the Walk event is fairly straightforward:

  • Meet up, and go on a walk
  • Mix and Mingle
  • Listen to a 3-5 minute presentation – up to 16 at any event – (let us know if you have something you want to talk about).
  • Ask questions – Share ideas – Create an action plan

Talk the Walk offers any participant the opportunity to speak to the whole group. The more speakers there are the less time each is given to speak.

Each Talk the Walk has a definite theme; themes have included: physical activity; emotional well-being and public space; animating public space; workplace health, retrofitting for walking; and children, play and independent mobility.

Bringing professionals from different fields together to promote walking is key to Talk the Walk, and in trying to achieve this and to keep costs to a minimum we have co-hosted Talk the Walks, with the Urban Design Group at the Arts Council, with Groundwork London, with Play England, with the London Borough of Bromley and with NHS Greenwich.  We are always keen to hear from other organisations that can offer us a venue that accommodates 40 people.

You can read about previous Talk the Walks on this wiki and find out what participants think about them.

Go to Get in Touch page to register your interest in a Talk the Walk or other Talkshops we offer form.