How Placemaking and Positive Incentives Can Enhance Urban Walkability and Revolutionize the Citizens’ Experience of Streets as Public Spaces ( symposia )

Abstract

Background Cities increasingly celebrate their public spaces incl. streets through placemaking as one tool to create awareness on their societal value. Strong partnerships are required from grassroots to governments in promoting safe, walkable and accessible public spaces. Events from Nairobi and Cape Town will be illustrated. For too long – strategies such as charging, restrictions and regulation – were used to “force” a shift to sustainable mobility. It is time to adopt a ‘reward rather than punishment’ approach. The EMPOWER project looks at positive behaviour change incentives that guide and enable, rather than eliminate or restrict mobility choice. Aims To promote walkability and vibrant streets – incl. examples from the Global South; To illustrate ways on activating streets through a variety of low-cost interventions including pop-up activities; To advocate for rewarding change via positive incentives such as information points, discounts, community support and games, and; To generate partnerships and exchange among audience. Method Speakers will present on Case Studies that come from developed and developing contexts in order to compare and assess walkability incentives. Examples: Nairobi: Nairobi’s Placemaking week happened in November 2016 which led to a revolution of experiencing the city differently. The event leveraged on the expertise of stakeholders from government, civil society and academia. The week was initiated by the Nairobi City Council with technical support from UN-Habitat; Cape Town: Open Streets Cape Town was founded in 2012 and enjoys the full support of the City. OSCT has its roots in street action and research, and has grown as a dynamic movement of street-minded citizens. OSCT challenges the paradigm of urban mobility via campaigns, temporary interventions, dialogues and walks to spark public debate, and drive behaviour change around the role of streets; Europe: The activities of the EMPOWER project started in May 2015 to gather evidence on the power of positive incentives and social innovation to promote Sustainable Transport. Using smartphones, new mobility services are designed to deliver personalised incentives to the public. Examples will be shared where positive incentives delivered on enhanced walkability. Conclusion The session will share successful projects and promote partnerships for future collaborations.