Susie Stephens Scholarship 2018

Deadline: 8 pm Eastern, February 9, 2018

The Walk/Bike/Places conference — if you haven’t heard of us — is North America’s largest conference on active transportation and placemaking. It is a conference for technical professionals, citizen advocates, and generally anyone who thinks that more and better walking and biking makes for a better world. Our conference is held every two years and we will be in New Orleans, September 16–19, 2018.

Walk/Bike/Places was established in 1980 and in this nearly forty year history we have had many colorful and magnetic personalities pass through our halls, brightening our days, and always challenging us to do better. Susie Stephens, the first Managing Director of the Alliance for Biking & Walking, was one such person and now to celebrate her life we — the Alliance, Nancy MacKerrow (Susie’s mom) and Project for Public Spaces — offer scholarships in her name. (When we meet in New Orleans we will also be planting a Susie Tree.)

Eligibility:

• Recipients are responsible for their own travel, lodging and meals. The scholarship covers conference registration and all official conference activities.
• Recipients traditionally have come from the walking and biking world, but all activists — fair housing, environment, Black Lives Matter, and more — are eligible.
• Recipients are expected to attend Walk/Bike/Places and may be asked to share their stories and expertise with their peers. (Another way to share your expertise is to become a presenter. We are accepting proposals until 8 pm Eastern, February 2, 2018.)

Start your application here. The deadline is 8 pm Eastern, February 9, 2018.

We expect to notify applicants of their status by early March 2018. This timeline will ensure that those who are not selected for scholarships will still be eligible for Walk/Bike/Place’s Early Registration. Follow us @WalkBikePlaces for program notifications and other conference news.

What will you learn at Walk/Bike/Places? Because our Call for Proposals is currently open, we cannot yet share our program with you. But you may find it help to review our 2018 announcement and the program (PDF) from our 2016 conference in Vancouver, BC.

Here is a sampling of sessions:

Show Me The Money! Empowering Citizens to Vote to Fund Walking and Biking
A discussion of city staff and advocates from across North America who have been engaged in putting ballot measures to raise new funds for biking and walking. The conversation will focus on the mechanics of coalition building inside and outside city halls to build consensus and actively engaging the public in a conversation about additional need for walking and biking infrastructure.

Safer Streets For All? Addressing Pedestrian Safety and Security in Underserved Communities
Low-income and racial/ethnic minority communities experience traffic-related injuries and deaths at higher rates and endure greater economic and social costs from crashes. The Community Pedestrian Safety Training Program works in these communities to improve real and perceived pedestrian safety and security by involving community partners in all aspects of program design, execution, and evaluation. Learn how this program addresses the unique pedestrian safety needs of underserved communities and develops unique, long-term solutions to pedestrian safety and security issues.

The Political Aspects and Consequences of Placemaking
Placemaking is often seen as a celebration of the local and is credited with reinvigorating neighborhoods. It has also been blamed for displacement and has been fashioned into a wedge issue. This session will explore these tensions through a case study of Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal, followed by a panel discussion on the challenges of placemaking in Vancouver’s social-economic climate.

Trick Out My Trip: How Citizen-led Projects Can Turn Transit Agency Heads
Think it takes millions of dollars to make meaningful public transit improvements? Think again. Even a $534 citizen-led project to install timetables on busy Atlanta-area bus stops can lead to major policy change from transit agencies. This session will bring real-life stories of citizens who used crowdfunding to make their good ideas come to life and catch the eye of local transit authorities.

NIMBY vs IMBY — Who’s the expert?
The inner city homeless population is a diverse group who know the inner city better than anyone — it’s their home and backyard. Ironically, this population’s expertise, particularly related to active transport and “place,” is seldom drawn on for feedback or input into design and development ideas. This In My Back Yard (IMBY) presentation was developed in collaboration with one of North America’s biggest homeless shelters in an effort to develop an effective awareness tool for designers and community organizations.