Living in an age-friendly society means "we need to stop building cities as if everyone is 30 years old and athletic," says Gil Penalosa, head of the international nonprofit group 8-80 Cities, who is in Honolulu to speak at Saturday’s Transit-Oriented Development symposium sponsored by the city.
Penalosa’s Toronto-based organization is dedicated to making the world’s cities and towns more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly while adding more parks and public spaces.
The group’s name is derived from the philosophy that "age-friendly" cities and towns should be designed to make traveling without the use of cars easier and more inviting for people from ages 8 to 80.
When it comes down to it, Penalosa said, "We are all pedestrians. Every single trip begins and ends by walking."
TOD zones offer the perfect opportunity for planners, property owners and developers to map out cities that are more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists, incorporating options like rail bus transit, wider sidewalks, parks, other types of community space and even something as basic as more trees for shade to make walking more inviting, he said.
Told there is much division in the community about the $5.26 billion rail project, Penalosa said rail opponents should recognize that the time to debate whether there should be rail is over. Instead, he said, all stakeholders should focus on doing the project right and ensuring that it helps Honolulu become a better city.
Officials at the symposium will also give Oahu residents an update on the city’s Transit-Oriented Development zones.
Seats for the formal part of the program, which takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall’s Pikake Room, are running low. But city TOD chief Harrison Rue encourages the public, including those attending this weekend’s Senior Fair at Blaisdell, to stop by and visit a series of displays and exhibits set up outside the meeting hall.
TOD areas are the neighborhoods in the vicinity of major transit hubs along the 20 miles of the city’s upcoming Kapolei-Ala Moana rail transit line.
Incentives like bonus density are given to developers and property owners to create affordable housing and other types of development along the line.
International and national experts will join local stakeholders in discussing the concepts of TOD such as neighborhood redevelopment, mixed-used development and public-private partnerships.
