Gil Penalosa, who has worked in 165 cities around the world helping citizens improve their communities, comes to town May 5-9 to share ideas about “getting Minneapolis-St. Paul to shift from being a good place to being a great place for all.”

Penalosa, former parks commissioner in Bogotá, Colombia, and now executive director of Toronto-based 8-80 Cities, will examine innovative urban initiatives throughout our cities and suburbs as part of the third annual Placemaking Residency, which involves 19 local organizations and government agencies. He will offer observations and recommendations at a dozen public events (including a Spanish-language presentation in South Minneapolis sponsored by the Metropolitan Council) and will headline the 20th annual Great River Gathering.

“Gil will have an intensive immersion in Twin Cities neighborhoods, meet with citizens, go on walking tours, even take part in a game show at the Amsterdam Bar, all of which will spark a wide and robust conversation about our future,” says Patrick Seeb, executive director of the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation, principal sponsor of the residency. “We invited him to inspire us to strive for being best in the world. He’s going to push us to think beyond Milwaukee or Chicago.”

Janette Sadik-Khan, the visionary New York City transportation commissioner who improved the city with bike lanes and pedestrian plazas, calls Penalosa “the pied piper of sustainable transportation.”

‘You can be world-class’

In a phone interview from Toronto (during one of his rare visits home over the Easter weekend), Penalosa noted that he’s visited the Twin Cities several times.

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“I had a fantastic time in the parks and walked, biked and ran on the magnificent trails. I feel that there is a lot of room for improvement especially in sustainable mobility: walking, cycling and transit. In parks, as in everything, there is room for improvement too. You can be world-class.”

Photo by Nancy Paiva Gil Penalosa

Over the past several years, he’s visited 85 North American cities and 80 throughout the rest of the world researching what makes a great place for people of all ages and incomes. His conclusions: 1) vibrant public spaces and parks; 2) safe streets for all users; 3) comfortable options for biking and walking; 4) fast, convenient public transit; 5) public officials willing to collaborate with communities.