Upcoming talk: “From highways to handshakes – taming roads for people”
Monday, 24th January at 6:00pm
Jimmy Mak’s, 221 NW Tenth Ave., Portland OR
A conversation with Tim Stonor of the renowned London-based planning firm Space Syntax
When it comes to transportation, planners use “science” for cars but more often “intuition” for pedestrians. Elaborate computer models have been developed to model traffic scenarios for vehicles, but when it comes to forecasting how people will move on two feet, it’s all observation and guesswork. In the 1990s, the London-based firm, Space Syntax, changed all of that. Mapping neighborhoods from a pedestrian eye-level and then applying relatively simple algorithms to model behavior, Space Syntax developed robust new computer predictions that led the way to successfully pedestrianizing such car-choked places as Trafalgar Square in London and Old Maket Square in Nottingham. Today, with 13 offices across the globe, the firm is leading the design and redesign of districts in cities as diverse as Jeddah and Beijing. Stonor will speak about the development of and the ever-expanding use of Space Syntax’s techniques and will offer thoughts on the relationship between the centre and the suburbs in Portland.
Tim Stonor is an architect and town planner with wide, international experience. In the 1990s, he established the Space Syntax Laboratory at University College London (UCL) and the consulting firm, Space Syntax Limited to build bridges between professional practice and academic research. As Managing Director, Tim oversees the London practice’s consulting activities and is responsible for the firm’s strategic direction. Tim is a member of the Design Review Panel of the UK Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, of the steering group of the UK National Health Service Design Review Panel, a member of the Expert Advisory Panel at Walk Englandm and a Director of the UK Academy of Urbanism. For 2010/11, he is a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
Bright Lights: Discussions on the City is a monthly series presented by Portland Monthly Magazine with City Club of Portland designed to bring the region’s thought leaders to the stage in an informal, conversational setting. Past guests have included Congressman Earl Blumenauer, advertising guru Dan Wieden, Portland State University president Wim Wievel, and the Portland Development Commission’s chief of urban economic development Erin Flynn, as well as candidates running for mayor and the presidency of Metro.
Contact
Randy Gragg
rgragg@portlandmonthlymag.com
Tim Stonor’s appearance is sponsored in part by Ankrom Moisan Architects
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