karen louise smith

Below is a brief summary of my most recent post at Metronauts on goods movement in the GTHA. This post is a summary of discussion topics from a public meeting.

A number of themes emerged at the Metro Hall meet up on Nov. 18th, 2008, when transit interested individuals discussed goods movement. Some of our discussion points originated from the Metrolinx Green Paper on goods movement, others reflected the interests of the group. My summary of our discussion is listed below:

1) The bigger geographic picture

2) Impacting change through local urban efficiencies

3) The interlinked nature of moving goods and moving people

4) Understanding models

5) Seeing new possibilities

The Metronauts blog site has launched. I became involved in Metronauts through my participation at bar camp style events in Toronto and Hamilton. My first posting to the site is titled Buttons bells and bike racks. I will continue to cross post here.

Buses are public spaces that we can use for much more than moving between two points in a city. I came across an interesting art project today titled Trans-Regalia. Trans-Regalia was envisioned by artist Cheyenne Henry to reclaim Indigenous culture in an urban context. A description from the Reclamation Winnipeg blog is quoted below.

"Trans-Regalia is an act of Indigenous cultural and political reclamation. Artist Cheyenne Henry reclaims the public transit system in Winnipeg to launch education about urban Aboriginal issues into the public sphere. People dressed in traditional Aboriginal regalia step onto city buses and share personal stories of reclaiming their culture and identity in an urban context. The lines between participant and performer are blurred as both become viewer and viewed, sharing a common experience, a bus ride into Winnipeg's core. This act of transit reclamation opens possibilities for dialogue and understanding in the inner city."

See the Reclamation Winnipeg blog for more information.