The event is organized by activists of Lypneva.com urban movement, and the presentation of the Lviv Street Rethink project will be an opportunity to discuss major shortcomings of city planning and infrastructure, as well as look for effective ways to improve them.
The Day was told by Lypneva.com members they will raise several hot issues of the city’s life, including traffic congestion, illegal parking and driving of vehicles within pedestrian zones, the sore state of public transport, poor cycling infrastructure, neglected public spaces, and the shortage of playgrounds. The activists say they have studied the cheap methods and mechanisms through which Danish, Dutch, German and other Western European cities have coped with the challenges of urbanization and which could help to resolve Lviv’s problems now.
On the other hand, the event’s audience will get to see the bitter experience of North American cities, especially Detroit, which is turning from an industrial giant into a ghost town, “with more than half of the residents having already fled.” “We cannot force into cycling people who have long driven their cars, especially those who use expensive vehicles,” a Lypneva.com member Demian Danyliuk says, explaining one of the movement’s goals. “It is very difficult, because no fines, however steep, are having real effect in this country. But there are still many people who do not own cars, so they should be encouraged to cycle.” Lypneva.com invites all who care about Lviv’s future and the city’s development prospects to participate in the presentation and discussion to be held at the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe.