Join us for the    

    Walk Bike Places

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

To think, first we started with a hundred idealistic cyclists in 1980 and 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. Now we meet every two years for three days and have grown over 10-fold in our 30+ year history.

Walk/Bike/Places 2018 will take place September 16-19 in New Orleans at the Downtown Sheraton, and is expected to draw 1,500+ city planners, transportation engineers, public health professionals, elected officials, community leaders, placemakers, and professional walking and bicycling advocates.

Working closely alongside our local partner Bike Easy and our Local Host Committee, this year's host city will help us understand how great streets, shared spaces, historic architecture and other elements of the built environment play a key part in creating its unique culture. Together we will also explore how one of the most socially and culturally diverse cities in the U.S. provides a landscape that supports cooperation and creativity across the board—from art, to music, to gastronomy.

Walk/Bike/Places 2018 will feature 3 days of over 80 breakout sessions, poster displays, daily general sessions and most excitingly, mobile workshops that will explore the city’s rich historic and cultural landscape. This year we are also including something new: Super Sessions, three-hour expert panels which will offer a deep dive into major topics of interest to all conversations surrounding walking, biking and placemaking.

You can find our full program here, featuring all sessions that will explore topics relating to this year’s conference outcomes:

- Transportation that is accessible and sustainable
- Cities that are fair and equitable
- Streets that are safe and beautiful
- Public process that is meaningful and inclusive
- Planning that is smart and just
- Places that are for people

We can’t wait to see you this year to continue this movement, in the spectacular and inspiring city of New Orleans.

Schedule at a Glance

Walk/Bike/Places Conference will convene in New Orleans, September 16-19, 2018. The timing could not be more perfect, as New Orleans will be celebrating its 300th birthday while we celebrate our 20th conference! Join us for a remarkable experience in a city that is best appreciated by foot, and traverse some of the 2,650 miles of sidewalks that connect the city's culturally vibrant neighborhoods and places.

If you prefer to bike, rest assured that New Orleans has you covered with bike share, which will launch in 2017. And if statistics are your thing, New Orleans's 2.8 percent bike-to-work mode share beats all but 7 of the most populous U.S. cities. For our placemakers, we cannot think of a more unique and vibrant city in North America. At the conference you will enjoy dynamic public spaces brimming with music, art, and people. But most of all, in this city full of improvisation and life, you will directly experience what Jane Jacobs called the "ballet of the sidewalk.” We can't wait to meet you in New Orleans!