Karyn Williams co-founded Velo-City in 2010 along with Samelys Lopez and Naomi Doerner. Karyn tells us how Velo-City allows them to share their passion about urban planning with young people and motivate them towards a career in the field.  And how Streetfilms plays a small role in that.

SF: What are the main goals of programming at Velo-City?

KW:  We wanted to share our passion with young people because we wish we could’ve been exposed to urban planning as a career option at an earlier age. There was also the desire to see more diversity in our professions.  Urban Planning and Design professions seriously lag behind others both in terms of gender and ethnic diversity and this is something that the three of us know personally.  I’m interested in the issue of diversity not simply for the sake of diversity or wanting to see more people that look like me in the office, but from the standpoint of the very relevance of our professions.  I think we stand to benefit from new ideas and solutions which will inevitably happen when planners and designers from diverse backgrounds are able to bring their personal experiences to the work that they do in the realm of policy, physical planning and design.

The goal of our organization is to provide opportunities for young people from underserved communities to explore the city on bicycles and to provide career training and leadership opportunities for students in the planning and design world.  I don’t expect that every student that gets on a bike and rides with us will then go on to be an architect or an urban planner, but I do expect that every student that participates in our programs will go on to be a more active citizen.

SF: Do you ever use Streetfilms in any of your work?

KW: Yes! I've used Streetfilms as a research tool when developing curricula.   Many of the films have been great for me to keep up with what’s going on in both transportation and the use of public space - not only in New York City but around the world.  I've also used Streetfilms in the classroom because they are an easy way for young people to learn about Bus Rapid Transit or bicycle infrastructure in a fun and engaging way.

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Every year the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) picks one or two cities deserving of the Sustainable Transport Award. San Francisco and Medellín, Colombia, are this year’s winners.

Streetfilms worked with ITDP to document these two cities and we'll be releasing videos on each this spring. But since I just returned from Medellín, I can't help but share a few highlights.

I met Carlos Moreno from despacio.org at the airport. Carlos translated and helped coordinate the logistics of this video shoot. We started with a 45-minute cab ride down the mountain to the valley where Medellín is situated. The view as we descended was absolutely spectacular and set the tone for our week's work.

Once in Medellín, we met Jorge Iván Ballesteros and Jesús Acero. These two gentlemen were going to show us why their city was nominated for ITDP's prestigious award. And we were to dedicate each day to a different theme, starting with "public space" on the first day.

Throughout the day we must have visited half a dozen public spaces where young people were playing in fountains and giant sand boxes while their folks relaxed in the nearby shade. In Medellín there are permanent public space projects popping up seemingly everywhere. Then there are the temporary public space projects like the annual festival of lights, better known as Los Alumbrados.

Here is Carlos Moreno talking about Los Alumbrados:

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Danielle Baskin from Belle Helmets painted these beautiful and whimsical custom helmets for the Streetfilms crew!