Gil Penalosa
The CIVIQ speaker series from the Chattanooga Design Studio returns on Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Downtown Branch of the Chattanooga Public Library with Gil Penalosa, chair and founder of the Canada-based nonprofit 8 80 Cities.
CIVIQ: a free, quarterly speaker series honoring Robert Taylor, seeded and funded by the Lyndhurst Foundation and hosted by Chattanooga Design Studio, where national and international movements in urban design are introduced and humanized by showcasing visionary work being done by practitioners in other cities. Each event is intended to equip the city to think differently about challenges faced in our community.
Gil Penalosa’s 8 80 Cities poses a litmus test: “if everything we do in our cities is great for an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old, then it will be better for all people.” He focuses on the design and use of parks and streets as great public places, as well as the promotion of equitable and sustainable mobility. His work explores the value of aging in place, intergenerational connectedness, and playfulness in a city, as all are indicators of a city that offers a good quality of life.
Throughout his career, Mr. Penalosa has been a strong advocate for connecting communities: making his first mark in Bogotá, Colombia, where he led the design and construction of over 200 parks and radically transformed Ciclovia, the program for open streets.
Mr. Penalosa has worked in over 350 cities across all continents. He was elected twice as chair of World Urban Parks, holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Faculty of Urban Planning at Swedish SLU. In 2023 he was voted #13 on Planetizen’s Top 100 Most Influential Contemporary Urbanists.
Admission is open to everyone, but registration is strongly encouraged due to capacity. Learn more and register at chattanoogastudio.com/CIVIQ
Event Details:
CIVIQ with Gil Penalosa
Thursday, Feb. 22
Chattanooga Public Library
Downtown Branch, Fourth Floor
5:30-7:00 pm
All Welcome, Always Free
Registration is strongly encouraged due to capacity.