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Date and time: Wednesday 24 November2004, 2-5
pm
Venue: Queen Mary, University of London.
Social Science Suite, 6th Floor, Physics Building (registration
in Physics foyer)
Many areas of London are dominated by traffic. London
has suffered from an historic neglect of the pedestrian
and there is an urgent need to create a balance between
people and traffic. Since women are more likely than
men to walk and to use public transport, any improvements
in negotiating the city without a car will be of particular
importance to them. But experiencing the city involves
much more than a matter of getting from A to B. Diverse
cultural traditions of exploring the city on foot have
raised questions of access, safety and freedom for women
through visual art, writing and performance.
This seminar is the first in the ESRC-funded series
‘Capital Designs: Women and Planning in Contemporary
London,’ which will be convened by the London
Women and Planning Forum from 2004 – 2006. The
seminar will focus on the gendered implications of the
Mayor’s aims for London to become one of the most
walking-friendly cities by 2015. Papers and workshops
will explore the implications for women of the Walking
Strategy for Central London proposed by the Central
London Partnership (CLP), the Walking Plan developed
by Transport for London (TfL), and artistic traditions
and practices of women walking in the city.
CLP and TfL have called for the better use of London’s
parks and squares, improving conditions for cycling
and walking and increasing the amount of street space
for non-car use. According to CLP ‘More than one
million people enter central London in the morning peak
time each working day and at least part of everyone
of those journeys is made on foot and 40% of all journeys
are made entirely on foot’. Research by CLP shows
that people’s experiences of walking in the centre
of London are not pleasant, but also that there is a
lack of knowledge and appreciation of how easy it is
to walk to places. One of the main priorities identified
in the Walking Strategy is the improvement of pedestrian
access by provision of convenient interchanges and good
quality walkways, wide enough to cope with large numbers
of people.
The pedestrianisation of Trafalgar Square shows how,
by creating the right conditions, people can be encouraged
to spend more time in public spaces and more time walking.
According to the Living Streets Campaign, encouraging
walking benefits cities in many ways: walking improves
individual health and it brings people together, which
in turn helps make isolated places safer, particularly
for women, older people, and people with disabilities.
The seminar will examine the significance for women
of policy initiatives and artistic interventions concerned
with walking in London. The seminar aims:
1. to investigate the gendered implications of current
initiatives, particularly in terms of access, safety
and the use of public space;
2. to link policy initiatives to artistic and cultural
traditions of women walking in the city;
3. to explore the place of women with children, older
women, and women with disabilities in policy initiatives
and artistic interventions.
Speakers:
Patricia Brown, Chief Executive of
the Central London Partnership who will focus on the
‘Walking Strategy for Central London 2003’
Andrea Phillips, Assistant Director,
MA Curating at Goldsmiths College, who has examined
the relationship between ethics, aesthetics and urban
topography via the work of contemporary artists including
Bruce Nauman, Francis Alÿs, Bas Jan Ader, Krzysztof
Wodiczko and Carey Young in her work on walking in the
city.
David Rowe, Surface Transport Director,
Transport for London, who will talk about the Walking
Plan.
Elizabeth Wilson, Professor Emeritus,
London Metropolitan University, will act as discussant.
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