U of S conference connects students and professionals to help plan for a green Saskatoon
The University of Saskatchewan (U of S), the City of Saskatoon and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists spent the day at a conference discussing planning strategies for Saskatoon, one of Canada's most rapidly growing cities.
By Jennifer Thoma
As Saskatoon grows, urban design and transportation strategies that encourage less reliance on cars are important and necessary to promote a city that is vibrant, affordable, and sustainable, explained conference presenter Bob Patrick, associate professor and chair of the U of S Regional and Urban Planning program.
The networking conference is titled Urban Transportation and Design: Getting Where We Need to Go. The full day event is taking place at the Park Town Hotel today starting at 10 am.
Students from the U of S, Marion M. Graham Collegiate Institute's Outdoor School program and Montgomery School's ScienceTrek program had the opportunity to learn from urban sustainability experts at today's conference. In a series of round table discussions students contributed their thoughts on how to make Saskatoon a more walkable, cycling and bus friendly city. The attendee list also includes planners, engineers, academics, and NGO and municipal representatives.
"In most North American cities - Saskatoon included - we have designed our cities around cars," said Patrick. "This dependence on cars comes at a very high price - road congestion, traffic fatalities, high infrastructure and maintenance costs, and increased obesity rates are just some of the impacts."
"It's time to question our love affair with the car and explore other options including improved public transit, car share co-operatives, more walkable neighbourhoods and bicycle friendly communities, said Patrick.
"The urban youth of today deserve more sustainable urban transportation options in getting to where they need to go. The time for action is now and this conference provides an excellent opportunity to engage youth in the issues and hear their solutions."
The conference was divided into two panel sessions and followed by roundtable discussions to break down issues and come up with solutions.
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For more information, contact:
Meagan Hinther
Communications Specialist
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1019
meagan.hinther@usask.ca
The networking conference is titled Urban Transportation and Design: Getting Where We Need to Go. The full day event is taking place at the Park Town Hotel today starting at 10 am.
Students from the U of S, Marion M. Graham Collegiate Institute's Outdoor School program and Montgomery School's ScienceTrek program had the opportunity to learn from urban sustainability experts at today's conference. In a series of round table discussions students contributed their thoughts on how to make Saskatoon a more walkable, cycling and bus friendly city. The attendee list also includes planners, engineers, academics, and NGO and municipal representatives.
"In most North American cities - Saskatoon included - we have designed our cities around cars," said Patrick. "This dependence on cars comes at a very high price - road congestion, traffic fatalities, high infrastructure and maintenance costs, and increased obesity rates are just some of the impacts."
"It's time to question our love affair with the car and explore other options including improved public transit, car share co-operatives, more walkable neighbourhoods and bicycle friendly communities, said Patrick.
"The urban youth of today deserve more sustainable urban transportation options in getting to where they need to go. The time for action is now and this conference provides an excellent opportunity to engage youth in the issues and hear their solutions."
The conference was divided into two panel sessions and followed by roundtable discussions to break down issues and come up with solutions.
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For more information, contact:
Meagan Hinther
Communications Specialist
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1019
meagan.hinther@usask.ca