In the context of preparing a cycle of local brainstorming and work sessions with a small handful of city groups in North America next month under the title, New Mobility Partnership Challenge Workshops, the thought came to me that it is high time to see if we can find a small number of cities, groups interested in working with us to prepare their next Car/Free Day. A few quick words of background might be useful here by way of introducing this (click for reference in each case.

1. The original October 1994 Toledo Ciudades Accesibles call for Car/Free Days: "Thursday: Breakthrough Strategies for Transport in Cities". (It has aged remarkably well and merits a close read if your interest is in 'car-freer' cities.)
   
   
2. The latest New Mobility Agenda Newsletter (important I think because in the event that you do not know it, this gives the broader context of all our work and perspectives on transport in cities, of which our World Car-Free Days Consortium program is but one example).
   
   
3. The short planning note which has been prepared in support of the forthcoming New Mobility Partnership Challenge Workshops in North America .

Why would you want to work with our team to consider and eventually organize your next Car/Free Day? Well, I think that experience shows that most of these C/FD tries to now have worked either not at all or with very poor results including considerable public antagonism (despite what the organizing bureaucracies may cheerily report). There are many reasons for this and since we have been at it for so long, I believe firmly that one should not even try organizing a Day without first profiting from these lessons, many of which are very tough and do not reflect favorably on their respective C/FD projects or tries.

The cities that we have worked directly with this over the last ten years since the original Car/Free Day call in Toledo have by contrast done well, not least because they have had the patience to learn the lessons of the past, the technical competence to prepare carefully and professionally, and the willingness to work hard to make a success out of the Day and all that is needed to follow it. This makes us want to do more, and each time better yet. Which is why I write you this note today. It is our experience that at the very least one well prepared day of shoulder to shoulder collaboration will be needed to rake over the various coals and set out the main lines of the C/FD work program, and if time and budget allows up to a full week. This last brings up the point that, unfortunately, more often than not the groups most interested in making this approach work do not have access to funding for planning and preparation at this strategic level. My hope is that in your case perhaps your mayor or city council will have a feel for how this can be put to good use, or otherwise a local foundation, interest group or even public spirited individual with access to this scale of resources.

Our references for anything we might do for and with you in this area, in addition to the above, include:

• Web site of the New Mobility Agenda (at http://newmobility.org)
• That of the World Car/Free Days Collaborative (at http://WorldCarFreeDay.com)
• My personal homepage (at http://www.ericbritton.org).

This first letter will surely bring up more questions than answers, but it is perhaps a useful first step. You have below all the usual contact details, and I invite you to get in touch with me directly if you wish to explore this idea further.

With all good wishes,

Eric Britton

PS. Have you responded to the on-going Car/Free Day Outreach Survey? If you do it will serve you and others who are looking for ideas and perspective. Check it out at http://WorldCarFreeDay.com, Outreach Survey.

Resources/Foundations/Support

Since 1988 we have joyfully shouldered the burden of these programs and public interest internet sites on our own, and one way or another intend to continue to make sure that we maintain and expand them in the future. They are terrific things to do since we are in the process continually are exposed to a very wide range of information and points of view, learn a lot, and get to know and appreciate many outstanding people and groups. But it sure would be agreeable if we could find some additional support, technical and financial, not only for the maintenance of the various programs you can see here, but also in order to increase their interactivity and usefulness, a major goal of our long favored cross-border cross-discipline co-learning process. We have some rather interesting plans for this, but we are going to need support to move ahead.

Independence of mind:

The trick with anything involving The Commons is that to do their job all these programs must be carried out with complete independence, continue to be entirely open and free-wheeling, and by their very nature cannot be subjected to oversight or external control. What you see here is what you get. Or as we put it: "The Commons: Increasing the uncomfort zone for hesitant administrators and politicians, pioneering new concepts for activists, community groups, entrepreneurs and business, and through our joint efforts, energy and personal choices, placing them and ourselves firmly on the path to a more sustainable and more just society."

Any ideas or leads for us? I have to admit we're not very good at this end of things. But as you know, it's a great cause and the sustainability agenda needs every willing hand it can mobilize. Come to Paris to talk it over, pick up the phone or put pen to paper and let us hear from you.

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Update Address Book/Protect your email

Recently we were counseled by one of our colleagues to have a look at an email verification and address book program called Plaxo, which I personally am in the process of using in order to clean out and update my/our very large email address files . It does the job well, it's free, it's rather handsome, and thus far it is trouble-free. For the record, I found that fully 20% of my carefully maintained addresses were in fact either changed or not working. And so it ever goes on the web. (Attention: works with MS Outlook only.)

The New Mobility Agenda Eric Britton EcoPlan International Le Frene, 8, rue Joseph Bara F75006 Paris, France, Europe mail@ericbritton.org www.ericbritton.org tel: mobile: +33 (1) 5301 2896 +33 (6) 8096 7879

Click here to initiate address book contact...

I invite you to check it out with me as a first trial step, and if you like it, well that's your call.

Click to know more about Plaxo Connect 2.0
To initiate address book contact:
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