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A thousand thanks for a fantastic inspiring conference.
Torgeir Esig Soerensen, Stavanger, Norway

First and foremost thank you very much for inviting me, for bestowing great honours on me and for organizing such an interesting conference with many very nice and interesting folks. I enjoyed it very much and was sorry to miss the final day.
Jan Gehl, Copenhagen, Denmark

A most amazing conference - glad I have finally made it to an IMCL event after hearing of them from afar for many years. I was very impressed with the consistent richness.
Rod Duncan, Melbourne, Australia.

52nd IMCL Conference Photos

Photos from the Bristol Conference are now available on the website. If you were at the conference, I hope you will enjoy them, and they will bring back good memories. If you were not there, you are welcome to visit, and join us next year! Please click here.

Ethics in Planning and City Government

By Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard

For many years, IMCL emphasized ethics in planning, and ethics in city government and we had a difficult time getting the idea across. We were, of course, talking about how planning policies must be written and administered to ethically improve quality of life for all, especially those previously disregarded (children, elders, the poor) instead of prioritizing the wealthy, or the car drivers. The idea was so unfamiliar that at one conference, some participants (from San Jose city government) thought we were talking about being polite in council meetings and in interacting with staff. They had never realized that planning policies could benefit some while harming others, or the planet!

Sven von Ungern-Sternberg - Freiburg’s Experience with Bicycle Politics

Sven von Ungern Sternberg was Mayor of Freiburg for 20 years in charge of urban design and transportation planning, guiding Freiburg’s great achievements in becoming Europe’s foremost example of a sustainable, green, healthy and child-friendly city. For this, the city has won numerous awards, including the 1993 IMCL Vision Award.

Mayor George Ferguson - Making Bristol Green and Healthy for All

George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol, talks about why Bristol was selected as 2015 European Green Capital, and about Bristol’s program to become greener and healthier in the future.

“Thanks Suzanne, and first a denial: it’s not down to me that we are European Green Capital. I’ve been involved as an activist in the city for many years, but it is down to ALL those activists. It is down to Bristol’s Green Capital Partnership, which is a partnership of 800 organizations, and I always say, this is a great city in spite of its leadership. It is a great city because its a city of people who take initiative, and its the people who take the initiative that make a good place. I think that applies to everywhere, and my job is to enable…

Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard - Planning Principles for Green, Healthy Cities

On June 30^th, IMCL Director Suzanne Crowhurst Lennard opened the 52nd IMCL Conference in Bristol, UK, with these words: “To achieve green, healthy cities we have to have an urban environment that ensures human, economic, and ecological sustainability. These are important goals, but there are massive forces that prevent us from achieving them…"

2015 IMCL Design Awards

2015 IMCL Design Awards presented at the 52^nd IMCL Conference in Bristol include the following: IMCL Honor Award for a Built Project, to the New Town of Cayala, Guatemala, Pedro Godoy & María Sánchez, Richard Economakis and Léon Krier. IMCL Honor Awards for Proposed Projects were awarded for the Urban Regeneration ZEN, Arch. Ettore Maria Mazzola; and Baltimore Urban Farmstead, Scott Truex, Sustainable Communities Institute. For more Awards and Honorable Mentions, please click here.

Remembering Henry Lennard

Opening the 52nd IMCL Conference in Bristol, was a short film by the distinguished former Dean and Professor of Urban Planning at Venice University who had welcomed delegates to the 1^st IMCL Conference in Venice in 1985 on behalf of the City of Venice. He reminded participants of Henry Lennard’s important message, to understand how good urban public spaces like the Venetian campo generate community and create a high quality of social life for old and young, and he called on delegates to save Venice from the devastating impact of mass tourism that is destroying the life of this city.

The controversial "Shared Space" traffic planner, Ben Hamilton-Baillie

Imagine a major intersection with no traffic lights, no traffic signals, no painted lines on the road, and no curbs. Now imagine that scenario with over 26,000 vehicles passing through a traditional village center with heavy pedestrian traffic bustling through. Believe it or not, this already exists and it’s called a “shared space” and it is located in the village of Poynton. Ben Hamilton-Baillie is the urban designer responsible for this phenomenon, and he will be a keynote speaker at this year’s 52^nd International Making Cities Livable Conference on Achieving Green, Healthy Cities.

Are Mumbai's planning problems so very different from ours?

This year we are delighted to welcome Prathima Manohar as a keynote speaker at the 52^nd International Making Cities Livable Conference on Achieving Green, Healthy Cities. Prathima will be speaking on The challenge to Build Livable Cities in India. She is the founder and editor in chief of the Urban Vision; working primarily out of Mumbai she struggles to develop strategies to overcome haphazard planning regulations while accommodating a rising urban population.

Thank you!

We just wrapped up the 56th Conference in Portland, a huge thanks to those of you who attended and made this conference so special. We’re working on making the slides and photos available to the attendees, and we hope you’re connecting with those you met on social media.

"I know of no other conference which provides the international expertise."

Sylvia Sutherland, former Mayor, Peterborough, Ontario

"A wonderful Conference. I truly believe this is the best Conference on cities."

Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., City of Charleston

"The most important continuous conference dialogue on making the world's cities and towns more livable for all of their inhabitants."

Dr. Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, Governor, State of South Baden, Germany

"The conference holds a magnifying glass to the world's best cities, revealing why, and how they work."

Benjamin Thompson, FAIA AIA Gold Medalist

"Love for our cities unites all of us in this unique, impressive conference, with participants from different countries, with different professional backgrounds, but with one purpose: making our cities more livable."

Antonio Casellati Former Mayor, City of Venice, Italy

"Ive learned more from this conference than any other conference that I've ever gone to. I've been a city councillor now for twenty years, and I'm so glad I went to that first one twenty years ago."

Kim Richter, City Councillor, Langley, BC

"Well-structured, extremely well-organized and super-high quality of both the presenters and materials presented."

Dr. Mirela Newman, Coordinator, Urban Studies Graduate Program, S Conn St. University

What people say about the IMCL....

“The best conference on cities.” - Joseph P. Riley, Jr., former Mayor, Charleston, SC

“The most important continuous conference dialogue on making the world's cities and towns more livable for all of their inhabitants.”
- Dr. Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, former Mayor, Freiburg, Germany

“I know of no other conference which provides the international expertise.”
- Sylvia Sutherland, former Mayor, City of Peterborough, Ontario

“The Conference holds a magnifying glass to the world’s best cities, revealing why and how they work.”
- Benjamin Thompson, FAIA, AIA Gold Medalist

“Love for our cities unites all of us in this unique, impressive conference, with participants from different countries, with different professional backgrounds, but with one purpose: making our cities more livable.”
- Antonio Casellati, former Mayor, City of Venice, Italy

“These conferences were and I’m sure are still game changers. My first conference was in around 2003 or 2004 in Sarasota. It was pivotal for me as a new CAO of an Ontario municipality having emerged from the public works and engineering area. It helped to shape our town, Newmarket.”
- Bob Shelton, CAO, Newmarket, Ontario

“I've learned more from this conference than any other conference that I've ever gone to. I've been a city councillor now for twenty years, and I'm so glad I went to that first one twenty years ago.”
- Kim Richter, City Councillor, Langley, BC

“A truly invigorating event. I was inspired by being able to connect with so many wonderful people from around the world who are all passionate about the creation of great places."
- James Dougherty, Director of Design, Dover, Kohl & Partners

"The diversity of the audience, the excellent presentations - and importantly, the passion of the movement - have influenced my thinking and next steps.”
- Candance Kokinakis, Ph.D., Sr. Director of Safe Routes to School, Michigan Fitness

“One of the best professional events I have ever attended. Well-structured, extremely well-organized and super-high quality of both the presenters and materials presented.”
- Dr. Mirela Newman, Coordinator, Urban Studies Graduate Program, Southern Connecticut St. University

“The lively exchange of ideas and the opportunity to communicate with colleagues as well as civic decision makers made the sessions extremely successful… Both new and, I am sure, lasting friendships have been formed.”
- Professor Derek Drummond, McDonald Professor of Architecture, Vice Principal, McGill University

“Architects, community organizations, city administrators, planners, urban designers, landscape architects, social scientists and developers committed to making cities livable, all attended. Participants came from places as close as San Francisco and the U.S. Eastern seaboard, to as far away as Samarkand, Russia; Prague, Czech Republic; Germany; The Hague; New Guinea; Switzerland; Australia; Venice, Italy; Austria; United Kingdom; Canada; Belgium; and Hong Kong. These international forums provide the yeast and inspiration to apply ideas to one’s own hometown.”
- M. Elizabeth Martin, Director, San Francisco Beautiful

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to the attention of the Members of this body the work of the International Making Cities Livable conference… a forum for hundreds of speakers and participants from 37 states and 11 countries to present ideas.”
- The Hon. Walter E. Fauntroy, U.S. House of Representatives

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What people say about the IMCL....

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