Re: like WCN? like Venice? (let's go network...)
Pippa Gallop <[email protected]> Wed, 23 May 2012 21:00:54 +0200
| Newsgroups | gmane.politics.activism.carfree-network |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------050500050708080803040806 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Hi, I have also registered for Venice, so I am looking forward to see at least some people there. All the best, pippa On 23/05/2012 15:37, Simon Field wrote: > Hi all. > > Thanks to Joel for his e-mail. I share his frustration at the lack of > progress towards carfree. There appears to be little in the way of > general interest in the subject, as exemplified by declining activity > on this mailing list for the last few years. We have also noticed that > the number of contributions to WCN's World Carfree Day wiki has fallen > every year, with just a handful of entries last year. This means WCN > cannot answer media enquiries on the subject, which in turn means less > positive media coverage of carfree issues.... In addition, we received > no proposals to host the 11th Towards Carfree Cities Conference. > > Interest in particular causes or activities is cyclical: right now > carfree is at a low ebb, but I'm hopeful new interest can be generated > as we approach World Carfree Network's ten year anniversary. As Joel > says, carfree has never been more relevant as a solution to > congestion, climate change, physical health, city liveability and the > rest of it. > > I think a physical meeting in Europe is a good idea - there are few > places better for inspiration than Venice. I have registered to attend > the Degrowth conference in September, and am planning to join the > Degrowth walk from Milan to Venice (see the Degrowth conference > website). This walk and the parallel bike tour (tours?) could be good > opportunities to spread the word about carfree and attract people to a > 'Future of Carfree' meeting in parallel with or after the Degrowth > conference. We are open to ideas for actions. > > WCN's internal mailing list has recently hosted a discussion about > restructuring and relaunching, but so far there have been no concrete, > workable plans with the names of people committed to help implement > them. Your ideas would be welcome on this list, or off-list to me if > you prefer. > > In the meantime we have a team of three core volunteers to maintain > the website, prepare the bulletin and coordinate Carbusters Online. > > I sincerely hope the carfree idea doesn't fade away. I think there are > people out there who truly believe in it - over to you to make > yourselves and your ideas known... > > Also looking forward to a response or two, > > Simon. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From:* J.H. Crawford <[email protected]> > *To:* carfree_network-/[email protected] > *Sent:* Wednesday, 16 May 2012, 19:26 > *Subject:* Re: [carfree_network] like WCN? like Venice? (let's go > network...) > > > Responding to Justin's recent post: > > Hi All, > > So far there has seemed to be little interest in a network meeting in > Venice. I'm not sure why, but I have one thought: Venice is expensive. > Is that holding people back? Should we look for a low-cost > alternative, perhaps near Venice, so that those attending the Degrowth > conference can easily attend the WCN meeting? > > I am very discouraged these days. Nothing seems to be going in the > right direction, and interest in carfree cities actually appears to be > declining despite the improvements they offer for so many of the > problems from which we suffer. I really don't have any idea any more > what we should be doing. I would like to gather with some carfree > supporters soon, somewhere. We need to discuss what to do next. > > Best, > > Joel > > > >Here is another attempt to insert some life into this list (as well > as network). This September 19-23 there is going to be a conference in > Venice, Italy on Degrowth. This is an important movement that has > gained traction in the past few years (some of you may have read about > Francois Schneider and his 14 month walk with donkey in France, in one > issue of Carbusters). you can learn more about the conference at > http://www.venezia2012.it/?lang=en. (can also register there). > > > >Venice is also the glorious example, par excellence, of a carfree > city and beautiful carfree spaces, that all of us in the network like > to gush about. Well, there has been some talk among a few of us, of > getting carfree people to attend the conference, and using the > opportunity to spend a little time (ideally after the main conference) > of planning for future ways that WCN can play a role in shaping > sustainable mobility and moving forward the carfree concept, in light > of the closing of the Prague office closed last year. > > > >Take this then as a call to see who is interested and would like to > attend, or help plan a mini-event and get-together. It will be great > to see some old carfree activists come together, but it can be equally > super if some fresh faces show up. Anyone interested, please speak up! > (either on-list or off-list) > > > >Also in the planning is the ecotopia biketour, which will travel by > bike from Spain through France to Italy, ending up at the conference. > Then there is a group who want to walk a stretch to the conference, > with a donkey entourage, just like Francois all those years ago > (Francois btw, will also be present, at least at the conf) . I've > heard also about a regatta with rowboats... So in a word, there is > hope to do some action, such as a critical mass ride, or something > else that we could organize. I think it could be great if an action > could take place that would specifically bring the carfree nature of > Venice to light, support and promote that aspect of the city. > > > >So, here is the question, what are any of your action ideas for such > an occasion? I know that if Joel comes, he'll take a video or three. > What else could we do? perhaps use the occasion as a scene for a > statement broadcast worldwide? some media action? theatrical or > otherwise? in Venice we wouldn't so much protest AGAINST something as > FOR it... > > > >if anyone wants to discuss this here, would be great, we still have a > little bit of time... also, if enough momentum develops, we can > migrate to a smaller discussion forum. As other groups such as > biketour are planning actions, we could coordinate something together. > I have contact with the conference organizers and am also looking for > more contacts to local institutions or groups. would be nice to hear > from any italians on the list.. > > > >looking forward to a response or two! > > > >Justin > > ----- ### ----- > J.H. Crawford > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > http://www.carfree.com > Twitter: http://twitter.com/carfreecities > Video channels: > http://vimeo.com/jhcrawford/videos > http://www.youtube.com/user/CarfreeCities > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "World Carfree Network" group. > To post to this group, send email to carfree_network-/[email protected] > Replies are sent to the author of the message. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en -- ========================== Pippa Gallop Research Co-ordinator CEE Bankwatch Network http://www.bankwatch.org Skype: pippa.gallop c/o Zelena akcija Frankopanska 1 pp.952 10 000 Zagreb Hrvatska/Croatia ---------------------------- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World Carfree Network" group. To post to this group, send email to carfree_network-/[email protected] Replies are sent to the author of the message. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en --------------050500050708080803040806 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 <html> <head> <meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <font face="Arial Narrow">Hi,<br> <br> I have also registered for Venice, so I am looking forward to see at least some people there. <br> <br> All the best,<br> <br> pippa<br> </font><br> On 23/05/2012 15:37, Simon Field wrote: <blockquote cite="mid:1337780224.3423.YahooMailNeo-65JPvAIbqn/[email protected]" type="cite"> <div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"> <div><span>Hi all.</span></div> <div><br> <span></span></div> <div><span>Thanks to Joel for his e-mail. I share his frustration at the lack of progress towards carfree. There appears to be little in the way of general interest in the subject, as exemplified by declining activity on this mailing list for the last few years. We have also noticed that the number of contributions to WCN's World Carfree Day wiki has fallen every year, with just a handful of entries last year. This means WCN cannot answer media enquiries on the subject, which in turn means less positive media coverage of carfree issues.... In addition, </span><span>we received no proposals to host the 11th Towards Carfree Cities Conference.</span></div> <div><br> </div> <div>Interest in particular causes or activities is cyclical: right now carfree is at a low ebb, but I'm hopeful new interest can be generated as we approach World Carfree Network's ten year anniversary. As Joel says, carfree has never been more relevant as a solution to congestion, climate change, physical health, city liveability and the rest of it.<br> </div> <div><br> <span></span></div> <div><span>I think a physical meeting in Europe is a good idea - there are few places better for inspiration than Venice. I have registered to attend the Degrowth conference in September, and am planning to join the Degrowth walk from Milan to Venice (see the Degrowth conference website). This walk and the parallel bike tour (tours?) could be good opportunities to spread the word about carfree and attract people to a 'Future of Carfree' meeting in parallel with or after the Degrowth conference. We are open to ideas for actions.</span></div> <div><br> <span></span></div> <div><span>WCN's internal mailing list has recently hosted a discussion about restructuring and relaunching, but so far there have been no concrete, workable plans with the names of people committed to help implement them. Your ideas would be welcome on this list, or off-list to me if you prefer.<br> </span></div> <div><br> <span></span></div> <div><span>In the meantime we have a team of three core volunteers to maintain the website, prepare the bulletin and coordinate Carbusters Online.<br> </span></div> <div><br> <span></span></div> <div><span>I sincerely hope the carfree idea doesn't fade away. I think there are people out there who truly believe in it - over to you to make yourselves and your ideas known...</span></div> <div><br> <span></span></div> <div><span>Also looking forward to a response or two,</span></div> <div><br> <span></span></div> <div><span>Simon.</span></div> <br> <div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <font face="Arial" size="2"> <hr size="1"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold;">From:</span></b> J.H. Crawford <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:[email protected]"><[email protected]></a><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:carfree_network-/[email protected]">carfree_network-/[email protected]</a> <br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, 16 May 2012, 19:26<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [carfree_network] like WCN? like Venice? (let's go network...)<br> </font> </div> <br> <br> Responding to Justin's recent post:<br> <br> Hi All,<br> <br> So far there has seemed to be little interest in a network meeting in Venice. I'm not sure why, but I have one thought: Venice is expensive. Is that holding people back? Should we look for a low-cost alternative, perhaps near Venice, so that those attending the Degrowth conference can easily attend the WCN meeting?<br> <br> I am very discouraged these days. Nothing seems to be going in the right direction, and interest in carfree cities actually appears to be declining despite the improvements they offer for so many of the problems from which we suffer. I really don't have any idea any more what we should be doing. I would like to gather with some carfree supporters soon, somewhere. We need to discuss what to do next.<br> <br> Best,<br> <br> Joel<br> <br> <br> >Here is another attempt to insert some life into this list (as well as network). This September 19-23 there is going to be a conference in Venice, Italy on Degrowth. This is an important movement that has gained traction in the past few years (some of you may have read about Francois Schneider and his 14 month walk with donkey in France, in one issue of Carbusters). you can learn more about the conference at <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.venezia2012.it/?lang=en" target="_blank">http://www.venezia2012.it/?lang=en</a>. (can also register there).<br> ><br> >Venice is also the glorious example, par excellence, of a carfree city and beautiful carfree spaces, that all of us in the network like to gush about. Well, there has been some talk among a few of us, of getting carfree people to attend the conference, and using the opportunity to spend a little time (ideally after the main conference) of planning for future ways that WCN can play a role in shaping sustainable mobility and moving forward the carfree concept, in light of the closing of the Prague office closed last year.<br> ><br> >Take this then as a call to see who is interested and would like to attend, or help plan a mini-event and get-together. It will be great to see some old carfree activists come together, but it can be equally super if some fresh faces show up. Anyone interested, please speak up! (either on-list or off-list)<br> ><br> >Also in the planning is the ecotopia biketour, which will travel by bike from Spain through France to Italy, ending up at the conference. Then there is a group who want to walk a stretch to the conference, with a donkey entourage, just like Francois all those years ago (Francois btw, will also be present, at least at the conf) . I've heard also about a regatta with rowboats... So in a word, there is hope to do some action, such as a critical mass ride, or something else that we could organize. I think it could be great if an action could take place that would specifically bring the carfree nature of Venice to light, support and promote that aspect of the city.<br> ><br> >So, here is the question, what are any of your action ideas for such an occasion? I know that if Joel comes, he'll take a video or three. What else could we do? perhaps use the occasion as a scene for a statement broadcast worldwide? some media action? theatrical or otherwise? in Venice we wouldn't so much protest AGAINST something as FOR it...<br> ><br> >if anyone wants to discuss this here, would be great, we still have a little bit of time... also, if enough momentum develops, we can migrate to a smaller discussion forum. As other groups such as biketour are planning actions, we could coordinate something together. I have contact with the conference organizers and am also looking for more contacts to local institutions or groups. would be nice to hear from any italians on the list..<br> ><br> >looking forward to a response or two!<br> ><br> >Justin<br> <br> ----- ### -----<br> J.H. Crawford<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" ymailto="mailto:[email protected]" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.carfree.com" target="_blank">http://www.carfree.com</a><br> Twitter: <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://twitter.com/carfreecities" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/carfreecities</a><br> Video channels:<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://vimeo.com/jhcrawford/videos" target="_blank">http://vimeo.com/jhcrawford/videos</a><br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CarfreeCities" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/user/CarfreeCities</a><br> <br> </div> </div> </div> -- <br> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google<br> Groups "World Carfree Network" group.<br> To post to this group, send email to <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:carfree_network-/[email protected]">carfree_network-/[email protected]</a><br> Replies are sent to the author of the message.<br> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to<br> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected]">carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected]</a><br> For more options, visit this group at<br> <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en">http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en</a> </blockquote> <br> <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-- ========================== Pippa Gallop Research Co-ordinator CEE Bankwatch Network <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.bankwatch.org">http://www.bankwatch.org</a> Skype: pippa.gallop c/o Zelena akcija Frankopanska 1 pp.952 10 000 Zagreb Hrvatska/Croatia ---------------------------- </pre> </body> </html> <p></p> -- <br /> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google<br /> Groups "World Carfree Network" group.<br /> To post to this group, send email to carfree_network-/[email protected]<br /> Replies are sent to the author of the message.<br /> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to<br /> carfree_network-unsubscribe-/[email protected]<br /> For more options, visit this group at<br /> <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en">http://groups.google.com/group/carfree_network?hl=en?hl=en</a> --------------050500050708080803040806--