By Sarah Ripplinger

The presenter list and themes for the upcoming Velo-city Global 2012 have been approved and Momentum Magazine is bringing them to you first.

Conference headliners include Technical and Environmental Mayor of Copenhagen Ayfer Baykal, City of Portland Mayor Sam Adams, City of Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, City of Copenhagen Director of Traffic Niels Torslov and University of British Columbia professor and J. Armand Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Urban Transportation Systems, Dr. Larry Frank.

Speakers will cover topics related to the overarching theme of Cities in Motion – Sharing Cities’ Success Stories at this premier international cycling planning conference, to be held from June 26-29, 2012 in the picturesque city of Vancouver, BC.

Previous Velo-city conferences have been held in Paris, Copenhagen, Dublin, Brussels, Barcelona and Perth. This will be the first time that Velo-city Global makes its mark in North America, and up to 1,500 delegates – from politicians, to engineers, planners, architects, social marketers, academics, researchers, environmentalists and activists – are expected to attend.

The path to creating vibrant, healthy, sustainable communities through leadership will be the topic of several presentations under the theme of leadership and the politics of change. Presenters, such as Michael Kloth, the acting secretary-general of the International Transport Forum, will share insights from past experiences, discuss how they overcame challenges and outline solutions and success stories.

Cycling plays a critical role at the local and global levels. How cycling can be viewed as a means of achieving community aspirations and addressing global problems, such as climate change, is a hot topic that many attendees at the conference won’t want to miss. Presenter Dr. Larry Frank will draw from his work at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health and his research into the intersection between land use, travel behavior, air quality and health. As the director of traffic for the City of Copenhagen, presenter Niels Torslov has valuable experience working with one of the most bike-friendly roadway systems in the world. Torslov’s presence at the conference is sure to attract attention.

Keep on tuning into the Bike Advocacy Blog for more up-to-date conference information in the Countdown to Velo-city 2012. And check out our first blog post here for more information about the conference and Momentum‘s involvement.

Originally published on momentummag.com.