From September 28th to 30th, Kiley Arroyo, Executive Director of the Cultural Strategies Council participated in the 1st International Creative Mobilities Forum was held in Grenoble, France.

The Forum examined over 60 international examples of ways cultural development strategies can enhance large-scale, urban mobility projects. Designed around a human rights agenda, participants in the 1st International Creative Mobilities Forum explored how investments in public transportation infrastructure can increase citizen access to and participation in the cultural life of communities. Diverse notions of spatial justice, cultural migration, and sustainable development were debated, as a means to draw out common principles and context-specific considerations for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars.

Case studies from Europe, South America, and Asia demonstrated how creative tactics can increase citizen participation in shaping these efforts and subsequent use of public infrastructure investments. In some instances, transportation infrastructure has been completely re-imagined as cultural infrastructure, as in evident in the groundbreaking work underway across Medellín, Colombia – where transport terminals double as libraries, playgrounds, artistic and sports facilities. In France, the Paris Grand Express, a $25 billion expansion of the century-old Métro is underway. When completed in 2030, the system will connect marginalized neighborhoods to the greater metropolitan area, and more 68 stations, which have been designed to double as public art works.

Additional information and a suite of resources can be found at: http://creative-mobilities.org/en/home/