The premier conference in North America for walking and bicycling professionals from the public and private sectors.

LET’S MEET IN VANCOUVER! Vancouver is consistently rated the most livable city in North America. The ranking reflects the city’s scenic beauty, its pristine natural environment, and Vancouver’s progressive active transportation policies that have transformed the city to one that any urbanist would love to call home. Vancouver made a choice to be a people centric city at a time when many cities in North America were in the thrall of the automobile and using freeways as tools of urban renewal. In doing so, the city preserved its walkable urban core, it encouraged the development of dense mixed use neighborhoods, and it protected its open spaces. Vancouver’s commitment to developing an intricate cycling network, promoting a dense walkable environment, and developing place is the perfect representation Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place ethos, making the city a natural choice for our biennial conference.

Our conference was founded on the belief that greater access to walking and bicycling will create healthier individuals, cohesive neighborhoods, and vibrant communities.

We started with a hundred idealistic cyclists in 1980 and we called ourselves Pro Bike. Then we evolved because we found common cause with walking: streets that are unsafe for biking are also difficult to cross for pedestrians. In 2012, under the stewardship of Project for Public Spaces, we added the final piece: Place. We meet every two years for three days and we have grown over 10-fold in our 30+ year history.

The 19th Pro Walk/Pro Bike/Pro Place in Vancouver is expected to draw 1,000 city planners, transportation engineers, public health advocates, elected officials, community leaders, and professional walking and bicycling advocates.

Our breakout sessions, panel discussions, and poster sessions address the latest trends, research, and best practices. Plenary speakers bring perspectives from other disciplines, and other experiences to help improve and expand our practice.