Retrofitting Communities to Meet the Needs of 8-80

Duncan, BC – The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) is continuing its Place-Making Vancouver Island Speakers Series and Cowichan 2050 initiative with Gil Penalosa, founder and chair of the internationally recognized Canadian non-profit organization 8 80 Cities.

Gil’s unique blend of experience, pragmatism and passion has made him sought out for his leadership and advice in more than 250 different cities across six continents.

“We are lucky to have a speaker of Dr. Penalosa’s caliber come to share his wisdom and insights with us here in the Cowichan region,” says Chair Jon Lefebure. “With an aging population, it is important we ensure our communities are developed with the needs of both young and old in mind. We know we are doing fairly well in recreational opportunities within the region, which is a key element Dr. Penalosa’s insights, however he will challenge us to do better in our community design.”

This free event will be held on Tuesday, January 16 at 7 p.m. at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre in Duncan. A roundtable discussion with community representatives will follow Mr. Penalosa’s presentation.

Before immigrating to Canada, Gil was Commissioner in Bogota. He holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, where he recently was selected as one of the “100 Most Inspirational Alumni” in the school’s history. In 2015, Gil received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Faculty of Urban Planning at the prominent University of Sweden, SLU. This year Gil was listed in Planetizen’s Top 100 Most Influential Urbanists of all time.

For more information about the Speakers Series visit www.cvrd.bc.ca/cvrdspeakers

For tickets visit www.cowichanpac.ca