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16.09.2009 | International Conference: Turning Great Ideas into Great Public Spaces - Oct. 1 - 2, 2009 - Krakow
EPSD and Project for Public Spaces are organizing and international conference in Krakow, Poland on creating great public spaces. The conference builds on the experience of Project for Public Spaces, New York and the local initiatives supported by Environmental Partnership Sustainable Development, a consortium of environmental foundations from Central Europe. Experts and practitioners from The United States, Western Europe and Central Europe will come together to discuss and share examples from the U.S. and abroad as well as success stories from Central Europe that can serve as inspiration and provide a roadmap for a new direction for sustainable urban development internationally. This conference will create a dialogue between Polish and international participants – and will feature expert presentations, panel discussions and a hands-on workshop in a real public space in Nowa Huta Krakow at which participants will be guided through the placemaking process, create a proposal for the space and the conference will present it to the town hall of Nowa Huta.
This conference is about creating destinations that build on a city’s or area’s existing assets, and that reflect the values and aspirations of the people who live and work there. It focuses on the critical role that successful public spaces – one where all kinds of activities, planned and spontaneous, take place – and that become the heart of an exciting district. It will provide experiences and insights into leveraging resources, involving communities and stakeholders and to create destinations that bring together local cultural organizations, entertainment venues, public markets, parks, civic initiatives and community retail that serves local needs and attract tourists looking for authentic, real experiences.
Krakow is one of the great cities of Europe and has one of the most remarkable squares in the world. Tours by local public space experts will be conducted of the city after the conference. The conference itself will take place in the Krakow district of Nowa Huta. Nowa Huta is renowned as a major industrial district built by the communist government after World War II and featured the largest steel mill in Europe. Now largely closed, the city will serve as a laboratory for the conference: using public spaces to regenerate an industrial city.
This conference is supported in part by the Trust for Mutual Understanding and the European Union.
For more information please contact:
david.murphy@nap.cz
barbara.kazior@epce.org.pl