Data or Bust...Paving the Way toward Walkability
Michelle, COO of State of Place here! Sooo…you might have heard that our fearless leader - Mariela - gave an awesome keynote about data-driven citymaking at the Oslo Urban Arena last week! But no worries, if you weren’t lucky enough to be in the Nordics, FOMO be gone! We were able to capture her Ted-style talk in (almost) all its glory! This is seriously a MUST-WATCH not merely because Mariela, ahem, Dr. Alfonzo, is one of the foremost thought leaders in the world in terms of quantifying place - and its value - she also tugs at your heartstrings with her very personal story, bringing to life why (smarter) data is a critical part of paving a way for more walkable (and livable and sustainable) cities!
In case you don’t have time right this second (or in case you’re wondering whether you really should spend 20 minutes of your precious time with our CEO - trust us, you should!), here’s a sneak preview of what Mariela’s impassioned talk covers. First, Mariela transports us back to life as a carless teenager in the suburbs of Miami and explains how that inspired her to advocate for better places. Mariela then takes us along her very data-geeky journey toward the creation of State of Place and why now is the best - and critical time to adopt data-driven citymaking.
My top three takeaways from her talk (which anyone who wants to create walkable, livable, sustainable places needs to know) are:
City-making is a matter of life and death!
Making decisions based on data that shows you how to become the city you want to be is what being truly smart actually means!
Data-driven city-making can get awesome places people love done!
Seriously, this is a don’t-miss (worthy of going viral, hint, hint - please do share! ;)) talk with so many more goodies and nuggets of knowledge that you have to know if you care about your neighborhoods, communities and cities! Now, without further ado, here’s Mariela!
If you want to know more about how State of Place can help you create awesome places people love (or want Mariela to come speak at your next citymaking event), please reach out below!