Gil Penalosa: "If you focus on people aged eight and eighty, then the city will be convenient for everyone"

Gil Penalosa is the founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of the non–profit Canadian company 880 Cities, as well as a special representative of the World Urban Parks Association, an international representative organization of urban parks, public spaces and recreational areas.

In the late 1990s, Gil led a project to create and develop more than 200 parks in the Colombian capital, and now advises officials and organizations around the world. At the 100+ forum, the expert will share his experience, but in the meantime, in an interview, he told what the name of his company "8 80" means, how to motivate the government to develop public spaces, and why older people are a valuable resource that must be invested in.

– You advise leaders and communities around the world, helping them create successful cities. Are there any students who were able to implement your ideas as much as possible? Tell us about them.

– I'll say this: I have been lucky enough to work with more than 350 cities around the world, on all continents. And in many cities, my ideas were used quite well. Not all of them, but those that were applicable to a specific city.

My non-profit organization is called 880. What is it anyway? The principle is based on one question: What if everything we do for the city would be convenient for both an eight-year-old and an octogenarian? From sidewalks and parks to libraries and all other public places. I'm not talking about making the city comfortable for people between the ages of 8 and 80, but for people aged eight and eighty. If we focus on these two groups, then the city will be convenient for absolutely everyone – from zero to a hundred years. I have already seen this principle applied in many cities in Albania, Mexico, and Tanzania.

I now live in Toronto, but for a while I worked in Columbia and was responsible for park spaces. We implemented the idea of a so-called suddenly appearing park. The idea was to take the streets – there were 121 kilometers of streets and road space in the city – and turn all these streets into one interconnected park on one day of the week. That is, people were walking, running, skateboarding, having fun and relaxing. This idea has already been applied in more than three hundred cities. And Russia can apply this idea too. It operates in cities of 50,000 to 10 million people. Anywhere. In Moscow, this program can be held from May to October every year on Sundays. The external conditions allow it.

Some cities take some of my ideas about traffic efficiency, others about creating parks. I conduct workshops for this purpose, motivate people, and train them. At the same time, I'm learning by myself. I learned a lot from my trips to Russia. For example, in Kazan, I saw a park that was made in the forest and built only of wood, no plastic. Cool! I saw how the children were playing there, and I learned a lot from this in my work. And so it is all over the world.

– Why did you choose these age groups – 8 and 80 years old?

– Groups of eight-year-olds and octogenarians play the role of such an indicator to determine what everyone needs.

Let's imagine the situation. We have bicycles and cars. Usually in cities, some kind of line is drawn for bicycles and that's it. Here, to apply this principle, you need to ask three questions. The first: What if a child rides along the bike path? Second: what happens if an octogenarian uses the path? Third: if one of them had to go to school or the store, would we be safe for them during their journey from home to the right place? If so, then everything is fine. If not, then something needs to be changed.

If we talk about parks, let's take the example of children from newborns to four-year-olds. They say that this is the most important period for a child, because the brain and muscles are developing. But nothing is being done for them in the parks at the moment. There are no tools for children to develop in the most natural and effective way for themselves.

Also, if we look at the parks, we will see people of all ages there, except for the elderly. There are a lot fewer old people there because they have nothing to do there. I'm talking about people who are over sixty. On average, that's a third of the world's population.

If a person turns 60, they still have a lot of time to be happy. He has retired, he should have opportunities for activity, some kind of activity. At the same time, these people can give a lot of useful things to society. They have a lot of experience and knowledge, and they can share it. And everything that was invested in them will be returned with interest.  In general, it is only in the last two years of a person's life that health problems begin.

We need to get used to the idea that people of this age can still give something back to society. A successful park in this context is not one that receives any architectural awards, it is a park that people want to return to. And the reason for people to return to the parks will be precisely the activities that are organized there. And you also need to remember that parks are a place for year–round pastime.

– You have already visited Russia, for example, Kazan. What impression do you have left? Do we know how to arrange park spaces and create points of attraction?

– I first came to Russia 35 years ago. I was in St. Petersburg and Moscow. I have also visited Kazan over the past three years and I can say that I was very impressed. In just eight years, Kazan has transformed: from a city that had no high-quality parks at all, it has become a place where more than a hundred new parks have been built. This is the right approach.

In order for the space to be of high quality, the city needs not just one good park, but a whole system of parks. Let's say there is Gorky Park in Moscow, it's great, but it's not enough for the whole city. We need smaller, regional parks where you can walk, always see your own neighbors, that is, something more local. This is required for balanced development. But in general, I want to say that Russia is good. I saw the changes.

But when we talk about public spaces, about points of attraction, it is not enough to mention parks alone. If we look at any city from above, we will see that from 25 to 30% are occupied by streets. And streets are also public spaces. Streets should be open to everyone. For example, in the case of Russia, and probably many other places, 10 years ago, 25 years ago cars were everywhere. Everything was made for cars. They could even be placed on sidewalks. The situation has improved now. Cars do not stand on sidewalks, sidewalks are only for pedestrians. And this is also important, because sidewalks are a place where people walk, not just walk from point A to point B.

– Many people believe that Yekaterinburg does not have enough parks and greenery in general. How to motivate the government to make changes?

– I would say this: you don't need to focus on the parks themselves. We need to focus on the benefits that these parks can bring to everyone. These are mental health, climatic and economic benefits. There are also benefits in well-being and more convenient movement around the city.

If we meet an official who is interested in the economy, then he needs to convey the idea that people want to live in cities with parks, because it is more convenient and comfortable.

If we are talking to the person responsible for healthcare, then we need to convey the idea that it is useful for people to walk a lot. Yes, even a little, at least 30-60 minutes, but constantly, at least five days a week. And the only condition under which people will be able to do this is if there are suitable spaces.

We have seen the importance of this especially in the context of COVID-19. Right now, for example, we need space in order to maintain social distance. In other words, we need wide sidewalks and large parks so that we can go out for a walk.

– The theme of this year's 100+ forum is "Conscious Construction". What does it give ordinary citizens?

– The first thing that conscious construction can give to an ordinary citizen is equality. If we look at the situation that has developed with the coronavirus, we will see who is more susceptible to mortality – these are older people. But besides them, poor people are dying. Rich people don't carry coronavirus as often because they can work from home, and people who work outside and live under stress become infected more often.

The second is sustainability. There is a bigger problem in the world than the coronavirus. This is climate change. It is more important than ever to work together. If we can't all deal with COVID together, we can't compete with global issues like climate change. If it doesn't work out, then nothing will work out.

Therefore, an ordinary citizen needs conditions in which everyone's physical and psychological health is maintained. And this gives equality and stability.