Velo-city 2011
The Velo-city 2011 took place in Seville, Spain on 23 – 25 March 2011 at the Barceló Renacimiento hotel. The Conference gathered over 900 participants, and 120 speakers. It featured prominent speakers, such as Gro Harlem Brundtland (former Prime-Minister of Norway, author of the UN’s influential ‘Brundtland Report), and also saw the unveiling of the Charter of Seville.
The Velo-city 2011 Seville was the first Mediterranean Velo-city conference in a Spanish speaking country. So, it set its main focus on the Mediterranean area, North Africa as well as Latin America. The city of Seville, being Spain’s second hottest place, turned out to be a connection to countries with high temperatures where people cycling in such a climate have to face different challenges as ECF has documented in its work.
The central theme of Velo-city 2011 Seville “The Cycle Of Life - El Ciclo De La Vida” referred to the bicycle as a part of everyday life and a source of well-being for people of any age in more inhabitable cities and regions.
Aims
As the moto of the conference (The Cycle of Life) declares, Velo-city Seville primarily aimed at advancing the role of bicycle as part of everyday life and a source of well-being for people of any age in more inhabitable cities and regions.
The Velo-city 2011 in Seville intended to show how a city in the southernmost area in Europe is also possible to invert priorities in favour of sustainable transport and make a significant contribution to the necessary battle against climate change.
Last but not least, the Velo-city 2011 in Seville aimed at drafting and launching the Charter of Seville in preparation for the International Transport Forum 2011 in Leipzig, Germany.
Program
The program of Velo-city 2011 Seville was spread in four days and included both plenary and sub-plenary sessions in different formation: presentations, round tables or workshops. The plenary sessions hosted significant keynote speakers like Gro Harlem Brundtland and Gil Peñalosa who was the Master of Ceremonies.
A full list of the keynote speakers is: Francesca Racioppi, Enrique Jacoby, Francesco Tonucci, Lynn Sloman, Pilar Vega, Eva Willumsen, Patrick Kayemba, Joaquín Nieto.
Theme Areas of Velo-city 2011 Seville:
- By Bike, Towards A Healthier City: Cycling as a healthy means of transport – improving the health of citizens and cities alike
- Learning About Non-Motorised Cities: Lifelong learning – improving our mobility habits
- Public Investment For A Better Life: The efficiency of cycling investments on sustainable transport and mobility
- Economy And Employment: Cycling As A Livelihood – the social component of the economics of cycling, a source of employment and development.
A car-free day and a bike parade followed in the end of the conference, inspired by the Latin American car-free Sunday “Ciclovida”.
The CICLOVIDA programme was organised in the framework of Velo-city Seville and included a series of 5 bicycle events from November 2010 until March 2011 (7 November, 12 December, 16 January, 20 February, 27 March). CICLOVIDA consists of temporal opening of city streets to its inhabitants, so that they can make the most of a safe, free and lay place for recreation and sport, providing full access to pedestrians and cyclists. By providing the opportunity to exercise, it is considered to prevent illness, to recover and enjoy public spaces, to promote peaceful co-existence, respect, social cohesion and environmental awareness, and to help citizens to acquire healthy habits, to improve air quality and to reduce noise in cities. Thus, it was connected to the theme area of “Healthier City” and the conference’s moto “The Cycle of Life”.
Velo-city 2011 Expo
The Exhibition during the Velo-city conference was an integrated part of the conference. The parties presented at the exhibition space were from the different fields of cycling policy, cycling infrastructure planning & expertise centers, bicycle industry and other cycling friendly businesses and networks.
A full list of the of the Velo-city 2011 exhibitors is:
1. Cycling Embassy of Denmark
2. European Cyclists’ Federation
3. Eco-Counter
4. Public Bike System
5. Red de ciudades por la bicicleta
6. Germany Embassy of Cycling Industry – ADFC
7. Bikediskenser
8. Sycube Informations systeme GmbH
9. Cycling Mobility
10. Minister of ecology, sustainable development, transport and housing (France)
11. Call a Bike (DB Rent GmbH)
12. Presto Project
13. Velobility AG
14. Nextbike
15. Josta Technik GmbH
16. Cyclehoop Ltd
17. Netherlands Cycling Pavilion
18. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente
19. Consejería de Medio Ambiente
20. Consejería de Obras Públicas y Vivienda
21. JcDecaux
22. VelopA B.V.
23. Forniture Chimiche Industrial SRL – “Biostrasse” & Serif-Treviso
24. Bike Dock Solutions Ltd
25. Calllock-mobility B.V.
26. SRAM
27. Oficina de la Bicicleta
28. Velo-city Global 2012 Vancouver
29. Ingenia Soluciones SL
30. Cycle-works.com & Bikes-On Buses.com
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